
Class. 
Book. 







A SHORT HISTORY 

OF 

ANCIENT PEOPLES 



A SHORT HISTORY 



OF 



ANCIENT PEOPLES 



ROBINSON SOUTTAR, M.A., D.C.L. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE 

Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A., D.D. 

PROFESSOR OF ASSYRIOLOGY AT OXFORD 



t 



LONDON 
HODDER AND STOUGHTON 

27 PATERNOSTER ROW 
1903 



7/? 



*\ $ H * s 






AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

The kindness of Professor Sayce in writing so 
valuable an introduction to my book makes a long 
preface unnecessary. A few words of explanation 
will suffice. 

The history of the Ancients is, owing to exploring 
zeal, becoming more interesting every day. But, in 
order to study it, access must be had to so wide a 
field of literature that few have either time or oppor- 
tunity to attempt it. The present work aims at 
giving the main facts of ancient history in one 
volume, and thus bringing them within the reach of 
all. This necessitates brevity, but, as far as possible, 
concentration has been arrived at, not by omitting 
important facts, but by omitting matter not strictly 
historical, which yet finds a place in most ancient 
histories. 

That the history of each people might be complete 
in itself, a certain amount of repetition has been 
necessary. A choice had to be made between re- 
petition and history by reference, and it was believed 
that readers would prefer the former. 

Of course, in connection with so wide a subject, 
no claim can be laid to original research. Every 
effort has been made to obtain the most recent 



vi AUTHOE'S PEEFACB 

information from the writings of others. The List of 
Authorities mentions the principal works consulted, 
and will be useful to those who wish to read more 
widely on any particular line. 

For acts of personal kindness I may perhaps be 
permitted to mention the President of Trinity 
College, Oxford ; Professor Sayce ; and Professor 
Flinders Petrie. The President of Trinity and Pro- 
fessor Sayce were kind enough to scan certain of 
my proof sheets, and to make valuable suggestions, 
of which I gladly availed myself. 

For the added favour of the introduction by 
Professor Sayce I would again express my sincere 
thanks. 

ROBINSON SOUTTAR. 



CONTENTS 

EGYPT 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Table of Dynasties 3 

I, The Country and Its People 5 

II. The Old Kingdom 12 

III. The Middle Kingdom 16 

IV. The Hyksos 20 

V. An Asiatic Empire 23 

VI. The Pharaohs of the Oppression 28 

VII. A Declining Power 34 

VIII. The Grapple with Assyria 39 

IX. Restoration 44 

X. Persian Supremacy 49 

XI. Macedonian Supremacy 53 

XII. The Early Ptolemies 56 

Xin. The Later Ptolemies 63 

XP7. Cleopatra 68 

BABYLONIA 

Table of Kings 75 

I. The Land and Its People 77 

II. Before the Union 82 

III. The United Kingdom 87 

IV. The Assyrian Wolf . 90 

V. Babylon the Great ' . .94 

VI. The Fall of Babylon 99 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



ASSYRIA 



Table of Kings . 
I. The Land and Its People 
II. The Empire Rises . 

III. The Empire Spreads 

IV. Pul and Shalmaneser IV. 
V. Sargon 

VI. Sennacherib 
VII. Esarhaddon 
VIII. Assur-bani-pal . 
IX. The Pall of Assur 



PAGE 
107 

109 
114 
118 
121 
125 
129 
133 
136 
140 



MEDES AND PERSIANS 

Table of Kings 145 

I. The Medes 147 

II. Cyrus the Great . 151 

III. Cambyses ,. 156 

IV. Darius the Great . . 159 

V. Xerxes 168 

VI. Loss of Supremacy . 174 

VII. Rebellion 179 

VIII. Collapse . , .183 



THE HEBREWS 

I. The Father of the Faithful 191 

II. Joseph 196 

III. The House of Bondage 200 

IV. The Nation Formed 205 

V. The Promised Land ....... ■. . 212 



CONTENTS ix 

^CHAPTER PAGE 

VI. The Judges 215 

Table of the Kings 220 

VII. Saul 221 

VIII. David 226 

IX. Solomon 231 

X. A Divided Empire 235 

XI. The Days of Elijah 241 

XII. The Last Days of Israel 246 

XIII. The Sole Monarchy of Judah 251 

XIV. By Babel's Streams 256 

XV. The Restoration 260 

XVI. Judas Maccabseus 265 

XVII. Herod 271 



PHOENICIA 

I. The Country and Its People 277 

II. Industry and Commerce 280 

III. Greatness 284 

IV. Subjection 290 

V. Subjugation 295 

VI. Destruction 300 



CARTHAGE 

I. The Rise of Carthage 307 

II. The Struggle with the Greeks 311 

III. The Breach with Rome 315 

IV. The Rise of Hannibal 319 

V. The Conquest of Italy 323 

VI. The Turn of the Tide 327 

VII. Delenda est Carthago 333 



CONTENTS 

GREECE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Place of Legend in Greek Histoay 341 

II. The Dawn of the Historic Period 346 

III. Sparta 351 

IV. How the Cities were Governed 355 

V. Colonisation 360 

VI. Athens 364 

VII. Cleisthenes the Eef ormer 370 

VIII. Cyrus the Great 375 

IX. Darius the Great 379 

X. Marathon 384 

XI. Thermopylae 390 

XII. Salamis 397 

XIII. Platffia 401 

XIV. The Rebuilding of Athens 405 

XV. The Rise of the Athenian Empire . . . • . . .410 

XVI. Pericles 415 

XVII. Athens at Her Zenith . . . . . ... .419 

XVIII. The Home and Foreign Policy of Pericles . . . .426 

XIX. Athens and Her Enemies .430 

XX. The Peloponnesian War 434r: 

XXI. The Defensive Policy Abandoned 438 

XXII. Nicias, Cleon, Alcibiades . . . . ' . . . .444 

XXIII. The Sicilian Madness 449 

XXIV. Athens in Decline 454 

XXV. Athens in the Dust 459 

XXVI. Socrates 463 

XXVII. The Retreat of the Ten Thousand 468 

XXVIII. The Supremacy of Sparta 471 

XXIX. The Rise of Thebes 476 

XXX. The Supremacy of Thebes 480 

XXXI. Sicily 486 

XXXII. The Rise of Macedonia • -492 

XXXIII. The Conquest of Greece 496* 



CONTENTS xi 

CHAPTER pAQE 

XXXIV. Alexander the Great 501 

XXXV. The End of the Macedonian Empire 509 

XXXVI. The Pate of Southern Greece 512 



ROME 

I. The Origin of the City 519 

II. What the Romans were Like 525 

III. The Monarchy 528 

IV. The Struggle between the Orders 533 

V. The Victory of the Plebeians 537 

VI. The Conquest of Italy 543 

VII. Pyrrhus 549 

VIII. A New Departure 555 

IX. The First Punic War 558 

X. A Breathing Space • . . . 563 

XI. The Second Punic War 567 

XII. Rome at Bay 572 

XIII. The Second Macedonian War 579 

XIV. The Subjugation of the East 582 

XV. The Third Macedonian War 586 

XVI. The Effect of Imperial Expansion on the People . . . . .590 

XVII. The Crushing of the Nations 596 

XVIII. The Gracchi 60 3 

XIX. The Rise of Marius 611 

XX. Misgovernment and Injustice . . . . • . . . 618 

XXI. The Italian Revolt 622 

XXII. The Democratic Revolution 628 

XXIII. The Mithridatic War 631 

XXIV. The Overthrow of the Democracy 635 

XXV. The Dictatorship of Sulla 638 

XXVI. The Oligarchy on Its Trial 644 

XXVII. The Second Mithridatic War 649 

XXVIII. The Rise of Pompey 652 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIX. Pompey's Conquest of Asia 655 

XXX. Cicero, Caesar, Catilina 658 

XXXI. The First Triumvirate 662 

XXXII. Caesar in Gaul 665 

XXXIII. The Conquest of Gaul 669 

XXXIV. Pompey's Government of the City 673 

XXXV. The Break up of the Coalition 676 

XXXVI. The Collapse of the Senate 680 

XXXVII. The Duel between Caesar and Pompey 684 

XXXVIII. The End of the Civil War 689 

XXXIX. Caesar Imperator 693 

XL. The Greatest Roman of them all ' . 696 

XLI. Antony and Cleopatra 700 

XLII. Augustus 706 



LIST OF MAPS 



I. Egypt in Relation to the Ancient World. 
, II. Egypt. 



III. Babylonia and Assyria in Relation to Ancient World. 

/ IV. Babylonia and Assyria. 

. 

V. Persian Empire in Relation to Ancient World. 

VI. Persian Empire in Reign of Darius the Great. 

VII. Hebrew Kingdom in Relation to Ancient World. 
VIII. Hebrew Kingdom at Time of David and Solomon. 

IX. Phoenicia and Her Colonies. 

X. Greece and Her Colonies. 
i XI. Greece. 

XII. Rome in Relation to Ancient World. 

XIII. Italy. 

XIV. Roman Empire at Death of Augustus. 



INTRODUCTION 

It is only the older ones among us who are able to 
realise the profound change which the Oriental dis- 
coveries of the last half century have effected in our 
conceptions of the history of civilised man. It is 
not so long since the history of culture and civilisa- 
tion was believed to begin with the literature of 
classical Greece. The Oriental civilisations of an 
earlier date were hardly recognised as civilisations at 
all, much less as civilisations possessed of a true 
culture ; they were commonly looked upon as mere 
incarnations of brute force concentrated in the hands 
of a few. A knowledge of the art of writing was, 
indeed, grudgingly granted to the Egyptians and 
Babylonians, but the possession of a literature was 
denied to them, and, still more, a literary culture of 
an extended nature. In the case of the Hebrews, 
it is true, the most stubborn sceptics were compelled 
to admit that a literature existed ; but it was con- 
sidered a unique and extraordinary fact, which it 
was necessary to minimise as much as possible. 

To-day all this is changed. The East is yielding 
up its dead, and we are beginning to learn that the 
ancient Oriental world was, after all, not so very 



xvi INTBODUCTION 

unlike our own. We know now that Egypt and 
Babylonia and Assyria enjoyed a culture and civilisa- 
tion of high order long centuries before Herodotus 
or even Homer, and that the elements of Greek 
culture itself were derived from the East. We can 
never return to the old complacent belief that Europe 
was the primal home and cradle of cultivated man, 
or that between the ancient Oriental world and the 
world of European thought and literature lies a deep 
and impassable gulf. If modern Oriental research 
has taught us nothing else, it has at least taught us 
that literary culture is immensely old in the valleys 
of the Euphrates and the Nile. It has shown that 
the civilisation and culture of to-day are not the first 
the world has seen ; that in the days of Moses edu- 
cation and literary activity were as fully developed as 
they were in the days of our immediate forefathers, 
and that in still earlier ages books were read and 
written, the law was codified, libraries established, 
and the Arts and Sciences studied and known. The 
lesson our vanity has received at the hands of 
astronomy and geology has thus been enforced by 
Oriental archaeology ; as man and his earth are not 
the centre of the Universe, for whom alone the orbs 
of heaven were made, and the plants and animals 
created, so, too, we of the nineteenth century are not 
the first and exclusive possessors of culture and 
science. The more we know of the civilisations of 
the past, the more are they seen to resemble our 
own ; whatever progress there may have been in 



II 

INTRODUCTION xvii 

certain branches of knowledge, and, above all, in 
their material application, in the general elements of 
culture, in the arts of life and the organisation of 
society we have made but little advance upon the 
educated classes of ancient Egypt or Babylonia. 

All this has come upon us with the force of a 
new revelation. Dr. Souttar very pertinently re- 
calls the fact that " to our grandfathers both Egyptian 
history and the Egyptian language were almost sealed 
books". And what is true of Egypt is still more 
true of Assyria and Babylonia. We knew nothing, 
or next to nothing, of the marvellous civilisations 
which archaeology is unfolding to our gaze : beyond 
the limits of Greek classical history and the Old 
Testament records all was darkness and fable. 

It is a new world, therefore, which modern dis- 
covery and research have disclosed to our eyes. Our 
ideas of the past have been entirely revolutionised, 
our conception of the debt we owe to our civilised 
forefathers has been altogether changed — the prob- 
lems presented by the history of culture or religion 
have been put under a new light, and the history of 
civilised man has had to be rewritten. 

To make this revised history of man accessible to 
as wide a circle of readers as possible has been 
Dr. Souttar's aim in the present work. Ancient 
oriental history is not only the introduction to 
ancient European history : we now know that the 
one cannot be understood without the other. Greece 
and Rome were the heirs of Egypt and Babylonia, 

b 



xviii INTEODUCTION 

and of that highly advanced art and civilisation 
which recent excavations in Krete are bringing to 
light. 

It is true that we are still, as it were, in the 
midst of discoveries. Archaeology is a science, and, 
like other sciences, must be continually progressing. 
New facts are constantly being discovered, supple- 
menting or correcting the results already obtained. 

And just now the new facts are multiplying 
with embarrassing rapidity. The excavator is busily 
at work in Egypt and Babylonia, in Canaan and 
Krete, and almost every month brings with it a 
fresh archaeological discovery. In Egypt the tombs 
have been found of the earlier dynasties, whose 
monuments seemed to have perished utterly, and 
whose very existence was doubted by "criticism" 
but a few years since. But the royal sepulchres 
of Abydos have shown that the Egypt of Menes, 
the founder of the united monarchy, was already 
as far advanced as the Egypt of the Fourth 
Dynasty : art was highly developed, grandiose en- 
gineering and architectural works were constructed, 
and the hieroglyphic system of writing not only 
possessed an alphabet, but had degenerated into a 
cursive hand. On the rocks of Sinai the name of 
the seventh successor of Menes has been deciphered, 
accompanying the figure of the Pharaoh as he 
strikes down the Bedawin of the Peninsula, and 
superintends the opening of its copper mines. The 
tomb of Menes himself has been excavated, and the 



INTEODUCTION xix 

vases of obsidian from the distant island of Melos, 
which had been deposited in it, are now in the 
Museum of Cairo. Even the chronological register 
of the early dynasties has been found. Year after 
year was duly chronicled, as in Babylonia, with the 
leading events which had characterised each, the 
days and months of the royal reigns being noted 
as well as the years, together with the annual 
height of the Nile. A fragment of a copy of the 
state annals, compiled in the age of the Fifth 
Dynasty, is now in the Museum at Palermo. 

In Babylonia a code of laws has come to light, 
eight centuries older than that of Moses. It was 
drawn up by Khammurabi, or Amraphel, the con- 
temporary of Abraham, and embodied the decisions 
of the royal judges in the various cases which for 
unnumbered generations had been brought before 
them. The particular copy of the code now to be 
seen in the Louvre was found in 1902 by M. de 
Morgan among the ruins of Susa, to which it had 
been carried as a trophy by an Elamite invader of 
Babylonia. The code testifies to the existence of 
a highly- organised and long-established society, and 
to respect for property and law. Unlike the Mosaic 
code with its background of blood revenge and the 
right of the individual to avenge himself, the code 
of Khammurabi presupposes a monarchy in which 
the passions of the individual have been subordi- 
nated to the law. Notice is taken even of the 
operations of the surgeon and veterinary ; if they 



xx INTKODUCTION 

are successful the amount of the fee is fixed, if 
they result in death or blindness the unskilful 
practitioner has to submit to punishment. 

But it is from Krete that the most startling re- 
velations have come. The excavations of Dr. Evans 
and others have shown that before the age of the 
Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty, what was afterwards 
the Greek world was already enjoying a large 
measure of culture and civilisation. In the bloom 
of the "Mykensean" period, which came to an end 
about the time of the Israelitish Exodus, the art of 
Krete and the neighbouring lands was strangely 
modern. Magnificent palaces were built with fres- 
coed walls and floors, and even the ordinary houses 
of the city were built in storeys, and provided with 
windows like those of our own day. At least three 
different systems of writing were in use, the very 
existence of which was not even suspected but a few 
years ago, and the gem-cutter's art had attained a 
perfection which was never surpassed in the palmy 
days of classical Greece. In fact, it is now clear 
that classical Greek art itself, instead of springing 
full-grown into life, was as much a renaissance as 
the European renaissance of the fourteenth and 
fifteenth centuries. The art of Pheidias had its true 
source in the art of the cultured " Mykenseans ". 

And as in Egypt and Babylonia, so too in Krete 
the discoveries of archaeology have confirmed the 
traditions which an over-hasty criticism had cast 
aside. The palace of Minos has been found again, 



INTEODUOTION xxi 

even the Minotaur is proved to have had an exist- 
ence in fact, and the empire of the sea, which later 
Greek story ascribed to the ruler of Knossos, has 
been fully vindicated. Ancient history is, in truth, 
being re-made in our day, and from time to time it 
is needful to take stock of the knowledge of it which 
we have thus far acquired, and to place it before the 
world. This is the task which Dr. Souttar has set 
himself to do. He has had recourse to the latest and 
best authorities, and has given the facts with judg- 
ment and lucidity. 

A. H. SAYCE. 



V. 



LIST OF AUTHORITIES 



EGYPT, BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA, MEDES AND PERSIANS 

The Dawn of Civilisation .... Masjpero. 

The Struggle of the Nations ... „ 

The Passing of the Empires . . . ,, 
Syria and Egypt from the Tel el Amarna 

Letters Flinders Petrie. 

Egypt to the Thirtieth Dynasty ... „ 

The Ptolemaic Dynasty .... Mdhaffy. 

Egypt Birch. 

Assyria George Smith. 

Babylonia ,, 

Persia Vaux. 

Assyria, its Princes, Priests and People . Sayce. 

Babylonians and Assyrians . . . . ,, 

Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments . ,, 

Egypt under the Pharaohs .... Brugsch. 

Ancient Egypt . . . . . . Bawlinson. 

The Five Great Monarchies .... ,, 

History of Greece Grote. 

Herodotus . . . " . 

THE HEBREWS 

The Bible 

History of the Jews Josejphus. 

History of the Jews Milman. 

Patriarchal Palestine Sayce. 

The Early History of the Hebrews . . „ 

The Egypt of the Hebrews „ 

Early Israel ,, 

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther . . . . ,, 

Ancient Hebrew Tradition .... Hommel. 

Judas Maccabseus Conder. 



xxiv LIST OF AUTHOEITIES 



PHCBNICIA AND CARTHAGE 

History of Phoenicia Bawlinson. 

Carthage and the Carthaginians . . . Bosworth Smith. 
History of Rome Mommsen. 

GREECE AND ROME 

History of Greece Grote. 

History of Rome Mommsen. 

Outlines of Roman History .... Pelham. 

MAPS 

Atlas of Ancient Egypt .... Egypt Exploration Fund. 
-Atlas Antiquus Sieglin (Gotha : Justus Perthes). 



EGYPT. 



TABLE OF DYNASTIES. 





DYNASTY. 


CAPITAL. 


DATE. . 




Old Kingdom. 


B.C. 


1 


Egyptian. 


This. 




2 




This. 




3 


If 


Memphis. 




4 


,, 


Memphis .... 


4000 


5 


)> 


Memphis. 




6 


„ 


Elephantine. 




7 


)> 


Memphis. 




8 


,, 


Memphis. 




9 


,, 


Heracleopolis. 




10 


>> 


Heracleopolis 


3000 


11 


>> 


Thebes. 






Middle Kingdom. 




12 


Egyptian. 


Thebes. 




13 


If 


Thebes. 




14 


>» 


Xois. 






Hyksos. 




15,16 


Asiatic. | Tanis (Zoan) 
New Kingdom. 


2000 


17 


Egyptian. 


Thebes . 


1738 


18 


,, 


Thebes 






1587 


19 


,, 


Thebes 








1327 


20 


,, 


Thebes 








1181 


21 


>> 


Tanis . 








1060 


22 


,, 


Bubastis. 








945 


23 


,, 


Tanis . 








810 


24 


,, 


Sais 








721 


25 


Ethiopian. 


Thebes 








715 


26 


Egyptian. 


Sais 








664 


27 


Persian domination for two centuries including sixty-five 






years during which native dynasties 28, 29 and 30 ruled. 


525 




Macedonian Rule 


332 






323 






30 



EGYPT. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Egypt is the name of that country which stretches from the 
Mediterranean southward along the western shore of the Red 
Sea and is bisected from north to south by the Nile. As the 
river approaches the Mediterranean it divides into many 
channels, forming a network of rivers and canals, so that this 
part, called Lower Egypt or the Delta, is well-watered and 
fertile throughout. The Delta is indeed the creation of the 
Nile — an encroachment on the Mediterranean formed by the 
soil which is washed down by the river in such abund- 
ance. Above Cairo, for many hundreds of miles, the Nile 
flows in a single stream between parallel ranges of bare and 
barren hills, and as the country is entirely dependent on the 
river for its fertility, Upper Egypt is for practical purposes 
little more than a strip of land of great length, but only from 
four to twelve miles wide. At Khartoum the river divides 
into two streams, " the Blue Nile," which receives its waters 
from the mountains of Abyssinia, and "the White Nile," 
which flows from the lakes and mountains of equatorial 
Africa. The thawing of the winter snow in the mountain 
ranges, together with the heavy rainfall in the spring, causes 
great floods to pour down these branches about the middle of 
the year. The flood of the Blue or Abyssinian Nile reaches 
Khartoum in the middle of May, and such is its volume and 
velocity that even after it has joined the White Nile its waters 
keep their colour and identity for 300 miles. Assouan or 

(5) 



6 EGYPT 

Syene at the first cataract is reached by the flood early in 
June — Cairo about ten days later. The river is not allowed to 
spread over the valley at will but is carefully hemmed in by 
embankments, and every piece of arable land has its own 
ramification of canals and dykes. From the beginning of 
July public criers announce the condition of the river, and 
when it has reached a certain height, permission is given to 
break dykes and open sluices, after which the waters are 
guided by the inhabitants from enclosure to enclosure until 
Egypt has been transformed into a long, narrow lake, dotted 
with towns and villages, built on such elevated places as can 
be found. Southward, in the Soudan, the river reaches its 
full height in August, at Cairo in September, then it falls 
slowly, and by December has returned to its ordinary channel. 
The waters of the Nile are turbid, but in this turbidity lies 
their value, for as they sink they leave so rich a top dressing 
on the land that two or even three crops can be obtained every 
year. Thus with comparatively little labour the cultivator 
obtains a splendid return, and from the earliest times agriculture 
has been the chief source of Egyptian wealth. 

The soil of Egypt is specially suitable for grain. Oats, 
wheat, barley, maize and rice grow in such abundance that 
the country was the granary of the ancient world. Vegetables 
also flourish, and it is easy to understand the longing of the 
Israelites when in the desert for "the cucumbers, and the 
melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick ". 
Dates, figs, oranges, lemons and vines also abound, and textile 
plants such as hemp, cotton and flax. 

Egypt is not rich in trees ; the sycamore and date palm 
grow freely, but most other trees die out unless cultivated 
with care. 

Most Egyptian animals have been imported. The horse 
is thought to have been introduced about the time of the 
Hyksos' invasion — the camel still later. Neither the ox, 
goat, nor ass is of native origin, though all thrive well. 

In early times the hippopotamus and crocodile were common 



THE COUNTEY AND ITS PEOPLE 7 

in Egypt, and were hunted by the wealthy even as far north 
as the Delta, but they have now retired — the hippopotamus to 
equatorial Africa, the crocodile above the second cataract. Birds 
are plentiful, and fish abound ; unfortunately snakes and scor- 
pions also abound, and insect life is of every variety, and in 
quantity beyond measure.- 

As all prosperity in Egypt depends on the river there is 
yearly great anxiety lest it should rise too little or too much. 
Too little would mean a poor harvest ; too much, the destruction 
of valuable property. We need not wonder then that the 
Egyptians worshipped the river and had temples in every 
province to the Nile god. 

We know little about the origin of the Egyptian people. 
The Bible tells us that the sons of Ham were " Cush, and 
Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan". Cush may be taken as 
Ethiopia, Put as Libya, Canaan as Phoenicia, and Mizraim as 
Egypt. As to how the original inhabitants reached Egypt 
there is much difference of opinion — some thinking that they 
came from Asia by way of the Isthmus of Suez, some that 
they came from Mesopotamia skirting Arabia, crossing the 
Red Sea and thus reaching the Nile Valley, others that they 
as well as the other races of the ancient world, " are descended 
from a single family whose original seat was on the shores of 
the great lakes of equatorial Africa," and others that they 
came from the west, from the Mediterranean slope of the 
African continent. The weight of the evidence seems to be 
in favour of Asiatic origin, especially as " the oldest remains 
of Mesopotamian civilisation appear to exceed in antiquity 
any hitherto brought to light in Egypt ". 

The Egyptians were idolaters, and although they doubtless 
started with a conception of one Supreme Being, Lord of Heaven 
and Earth, they soon lost sight of this elementary doctrine. 
There were hundreds of gods in Egypt — each city having its 
patron deity, each family its favourite god. Certain animals 
and birds were sacred : the cow, cat and ibis throughout Egypt, 
the crocodile, hippopotamus and goat in specific localities. 



8 EGYPT 

At Memphis a bull called Apis, chosen by certain marks, 
was worshipped as an incarnation of the god Ptah; at Heliopolis 
another was worshipped as an incarnation of Ka ; at Thebes 
Minu was worshipped in similar fashion, and at Hermonthis 
the god Montu. When a sacred bull died, he was buried with 
regal splendour, the country mourned and business was sus- 
pended until another had been found bearing the sacred marks. 

Some part of the religious creed of the Egyptians was 
unexceptionable. They believed in the divine origin and 
immortality of the soul. They recognised that in this life 
man had to struggle against evil, and taught that his condition 
hereafter depended upon his actions here. But these simple 
truths were hidden under much superstition and mummery. As 
time went on, the kings also became objects of worship, both 
whilst they lived and after death — their pyramids being en- 
dowed that priests might pay divine honours to their memory. 

From the earliest historic times until it became a Roman 
province Egypt had monarchical government. Next to the 
kings down to the age of the eighteenth dynasty came 
the nobles, having hereditary rights which modified the 
despotism of the Crown ; next came the priests, often 
members of aristocratic families, controlling the temples 
with their rich endowments, then the military and official 
classes mostly drawn from the families of the aristocracy and 
priesthood, and enjoying many exemptions and privileges, and 
finally, under all and supporting all, the toiling masses upon 
whom the wealth of the country depended. All the way up 
the social ladder, stepping from class to class, every man ac- 
knowledged a superior, who, in exchange for service, obtained 
for his client such justice and protection as were to be had. 

For convenience the country was divided into provinces or 
nomes. There were about forty of these, the number and 
boundaries varying from time to time ; and the local adminis- 
tration was responsible amongst other things for rectifying 
the boundaries when altered by the frequent encroachments 
of the river. 



THE COUNTEY AND ITS PEOPLE 9 

Royal taxation was based on produce and was usually a 
tenth, but others besides the king claimed a share, so that the 
gross burdens were generally excessive and often collected 
with cruelty. There was also much forced labour on the 
king's lands, on the lands of the nobles, and in connection 
with the building of tombs and temples. Some of the 
Pharaohs, now esteemed great because they left masses of 
masonry behind them, were brutal tyrants, and their names 
were execrated by the Egyptian people. 

Though the life of the humbler classes in Egypt left much 
to be desired, it is noteworthy that there was no impassable 
barrier between the orders such as exists in countries where 
caste prevails. Education, both primary and secondary, was 
open to all, and though the young aristocrat naturally started 
with an advantage, yet the son of the poor man might distance 
him if he showed greater merit. Indeed we find in Egypt a 
spirit all too rare, by which humility of origin is held to 
redound to one's credit, the fact that a man's ancestors 
were not known to history being noted on his monument as 
matter for proper pride. 

Egypt must always be famous for its unique treatment 
of the dead. Of course poor people buried their dead 
in the sand in the ordinary way, and foreigners had 
their own methods of burial, but the bodies of wealthy 
Egyptians were treated very elaborately. First they were 
embalmed, then swathed in linen, over this a preparation of 
pasteboard was placed, the shape of the face and hands being 
retained ; next came a casing of wood, and then a stone 
sarcophagus. The tomb might be for one only, or it might 
be a family vault sufficing for several generations and having 
a chamber where the pious might pray for the repose of the 
dead. The respect shown to the dead was a commendable 
feature in Egyptian character, and to the fact that Egypt 
became by virtue of this custom one long cemetery we owe 
much of our knowledge of her ancient history. 

The greatest of Egyptian historians was Manetho, who 



10 EGYPT 

wrote in the reigns of the first Ptolemies. His works are 
lost, but fragments survive in the books of other writers, 
and from these lists of the kings have been compiled. The 
names of many kings mentioned by Manetho have also 
been found upon monuments so that as regards mere names 
we have a good deal of information. When we come to the 
question of chronology, however, there is much difficulty, 
for Manetho, working from material which must have been 
meagre at the best, attempted to tabulate the dynasties for 
thousands of years — an impossible task. Modern historians 
have gone to infinite trouble to fix dates for the various 
dynasties, and they are now fairly well ascertained for fifteen 
centuries before the Christian era. Prior to that time they 
can only be looked upon as approximative. 

Like most nations the Egj^ptians prefaced history with 
mythology, dynasties of gods, demigods and heroes filling 
up the blank of prehistoric time. Even when we emerge 
from manifest fable and come to those dynasties of Manetho 
which are apparently historic, we have scarcely any informa- 
tion concerning the first three, though they are said to have 
covered a period of nearly 1000 years. Fragmentary remains 
of this early period have been found, but for historic purposes 
we must begin Egyptian history with the fourth dynasty. At 
the same time, the fact of political organisation, the existence 
of writing, and the character of the monuments make it clear 
that Egypt at the beginning of the fourth dynasty was not in 
her infancy as a state. 

It is interesting to remember that to our grandfathers 
both Egyptian history and the Egyptian language were 
almost sealed books. Just a century ago a monument was 
discovered known as the Rosetta stone, upon which there was 
a trilingual inscription, one of the languages being Greek.. 
Analysing the second transcript, Akerblad, a Swede, in 1802 
built up a portion of what we now know to have been the 
alphabet of the later running hand. Some years after Thomas 
Young identified the names of Ptolemy and Berenice in the 



THE COUNTEY AND ITS PEOPLE 11 

hieroglyphic portion of the inscription. Then Champollion took 
up the work and having identified the name of Cleopatra on 
an obelisk, by a carefuHcomparison of the text on the obelisk 
with that on the Rosetta stone made a great advance. He 
died in 1831 and Egyptology was depressed for a time. The 
discoveries of Rawlinson and Layard gave a fresh impulse to 
Oriental study, and during the last few years wonderful progress 
has been made. At the beginning of the century Egyptian 
was an unknown language, now there are twenty professors 
teaching it in the universities of Europe and America. Assyri- 
ology is also receiving much attention, and every year adds to 
our knowledge of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE OLD KINGDOM— DYNASTIES 1-XI. 

DYNASTY IN.— The Pyramid Builders: Sneferu, Khufu, Khafra, 

Menkaura. 

The title of Pharaoh, "Great House," was given by the 
Egyptians to their successive kings. The first concerning 
whom we have much historic certainty is Sneferu, of whom 
we have two relics — a pyramid at Medum, forty miles south 
of Cairo, and a rock tablet in the Sinaitic peninsula. 

In early times when a Pharaoh ascended the throne he 
began preparing his tomb, which generally took the form of 
a pyramid. The pyramids of Gizeh — still the wonder of the 
world — were built by Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura, but 
one even more striking was erected by Sneferu. The 
Gizeh pyramids were designed in a way which shows 
that their full size must have been contemplated from 
the beginning, but Sneferu built the inner chamber first 
and then laid on layers of masonry until a sufficient size 
had been attained, when he placed a smooth casing over 
all. Around his pyramid are ranged tombs of his nobles 
and priests, and in one of these have been found two 
of the finest statues of antiquity — those of Rahotep, a 
royal official, and Nefert his wife. They are of painted lime- 
stone, and in excellence of workmanship and artistic expression 
are superior to work of a later age. 

The rock tablet in the Sinaitic peninsula represents Sneferu 
in the act of striking a Bedouin with a club, the inscription 

giving the king's name and terming him vanquisher of a foreign 

(12) 



THE OLD KINGDOM 13 

people. The Nile Valley was poor in metals, and the tablet 
proves that even in these early days the Egyptians were 
searching for the copper ore and precious stones which were 
to be found amongst the rocks of the Sinaitic peninsula. 

The second king of the fourth dynasty was Khufu, better 
known as Cheops, whose pyramid at Gizeh is of vast size and said 
to contain more stone than any other single building in existence. 
The blocks are huge, and some of them were brought a con- 
siderable distance, the method adopted being to drag them on 
rollers across the ground to the river and then float them down 
on barges. The accuracy with which the stones have been 
cut and jointed, together with the way they have been 
transported and set in place, shows signs of extraordinary 
patience and not insignificant mechanical skill. Herodotus 
says the building of the pyramid occupied relays of 100,000 
men for twenty years, and there is no reason to doubt his 
statement. 

The successor of Cheops was Khafra, who built the second 
pyramid of Gizeh, which is of inferior workmanship to the 
first. A fine statue of this monarch stands in the museum at 
Gizeh carved out of diorite — the hardest of stone. 

The third pyramid at Gizeh was built by Menkaura, and 
is much smaller than those built by his predecessors. 

It has been the custom to measure the splendour of Cheops' 
imagination by the size of his pyramid, but it is likely that, 
having no standard to measure by, he had little conception 
of what he was undertaking when he began it, and having 
once begun was ashamed to leave it unfinished. His successors 
profited by his experience and designed their tombs on a 
more moderate scale. The custom of pyramid-building con- 
tinued for centuries, but no monarch attempted to rival the 
early work, and the pyramids dwindled in size until at last 
the fashion of building them died away. 

Beside the great pyramids at Gizeh lies the sphinx — a 
colossal image, having the body of a lion and the face of a 
man. It is carved on a huge rock, the shape of which doubtless 



14 EGYPT 

suggested the idea, and hollow places in the rock are filled 
with masonry. A stela found near the sphinx mentions the 
name of Khafra, but some writers have thought it is a forgery 
of the time of Psamatik. 

The Pharaohs of the fifth dynasty are said to have been 
usurpers of priestly origin, and to have shown much favour 
to religious institutions. They were enterprising, working 
the mines in the Sinaitic peninsula, and trading down the 
coasts of the Red Sea. They also raided the south, carrying 
their arms as far as Wady Haifa and the second cataract in 
search of slaves and booty. One of the oldest known papyri, 
" The Prisse," is a copy of a work written in the reign of Dadkara, 
one of the later kings of this dynasty. It is entitled " The 
Proverbs of Ptahhetep," and the author was uncle and tutor to 
the king. 

The monarchs of the sixth dynasty were yet more warlike 
and enterprising, inscriptions of its kings in all parts of Egypt 
testifying to their activity. Memphis had hitherto been the 
capital city, but these monarchs, pushing their conquests south- 
ward, preferred to reside at Elephantine near the first cataract. 
Teta, the founder of the dynasty, built a pyramid at Sak- 
kara, inside which are inscriptions of the very greatest impor- 
tance. 

Pepy I, the third king of the dynasty, reigned long, and 
has left many memorials. He had the south so well under 
control that he could levy regiments of Soudanese to help him 
against the Bedouin of the Sinaitic peninsula. An interesting 
historical inscription belongs to his reign — the biography of 
Una, the prime minister. Beginning his career under Teta 
he rose from post to post, becoming secretary to Pepy I., and 
at length commander of an expedition against the Bedouin. 
In this capacity he raided the country of the king's enemies 
five times, cutting down the vines and fig-trees of the wretched 
people, slaughtering many and bringing back hosts of 
slaves. 

On a tomb at Assouan there is a valuable biographical 



THE OLD KINGDOM 15 

inscription of the reigns of Merenra and Pepy II., the fourth 
and fifth kings of the dynasty. The inscription is in glori- 
fication of Herkhuf, successor to Una, and it tells of raids 
into the Soudan from which the Egyptians returned laden 
with spoil. Notwithstanding the bombastic language used in 
these inscriptions, they give the impression that the civilisation 
of that time was of a rudimentary character, and that the 
Egyptians after all were but a simple-minded folk. 

During the reign of Pepy II. Egypt prospered, but after 
his death rivals strove for the throne and the dynasty had 
not a peaceful end. Herodotus says that one of the later 
kings was slain by conspirators, his queen Nitocris remaining 
on the throne. Determined on vengeance she built a sub- 
terranean banqueting hall connected by a secret conduit with 
the river, and having invited those implicated to a feast, she 
let in the river and drowned them all. 

After the sixth dynasty there is a period of historical 
uncertainty — the country having evidently fallen upon troub- 
lous times. The central administration was weak, and the 
seat of government, which had returned from Elephantine 
to Memphis, was driven southward to Heracleopolis, from 
which city the Pharaohs of the ninth and tenth dynasties 
governed such part of the country as remained loyal. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM— DYNASTIES XII-XIV. 

During the period of confusion above described, when the 
Pharaohs had been driven southward and had enough to do 
to hold their own in Heracleopolis, the feudal princes, each 
governing his province, were practically independent and 
founded quasi-royal dynasties in their various cities. The 
weakening of the central power left the country at the mercy 
of its neighbours, and the Libyan desert tribes began to cluster 
round, squatting on the hill slopes and encroaching on the, 
fertile lands of the Nile Valley wherever they got the chance. 

The country being thus disorganised opportunity was 
given for some new dynasty to seize the reins of government. 
Now it happened that, whilst the rest of the country was 
weak, Thebes was gaining in strength. This city was so far 
south that it was not much affected by troubles in Northern 
Egypt, but yet occupied a commanding position. Being at 
this time under the rule of a powerful family, it revolted, and, 
the adjacent provinces joining the rebellion, Thebes triumphed 
and brought all Egypt under its sway. 

The eleventh dynasty was the first that made Thebes 
its capital, and was partly contemporaneous with the tenth 
which had ruled at Heracleopolis. During this period there 
was a revival of the commercial spirit — ships were built, 
roads made, and trade routes established. 

An inscription in the Valley of Hammamat, the ancient 

route from Koptos to the Red Sea, tells of an expedition 

-undertaken to the land of Punt, the name given to the 

(16) 



THE MIDDLE KINGDOM 17 

country round the south end of the Sea. The expedition was 
for commercial purposes and brought back many products. 

The eleventh dynasty was of service to Egypt, but towards 
its close the feudal chiefs again became too strong for the 
central power, and a firmer hand was needed if the Pharaoh 
was to be supreme. The kings of the twelfth dynasty proved 
equal to the occasion. 

DYNASTY XII. — Amenemhat I, Usertesen I., Amenemhat II., 
Usertesen II., Usertesen III., Amenemhat III, Amenemhat IV., 
Sebekneferu. 

The second Theban and twelfth Egyptian dynasty was of 
high importance. Its founder Amenemhat I. was not of royal 
descent, but proved an excellent ruler, restoring cities and 
temples, repressing crime, fixing the boundaries of the nomes, 
and readjusting taxation. Finding Thebes to be inconveni- 
ently situated, he built a royal residence for himself farther 
north at Dahshur, near Memphis. His vigorous adminis- 
tration raised up enemies, and as a precaution he allied his son 
with him in the sovereignty. This son, Usertesen I., was a 
warrior and was fighting the Libyan tribes when his father 
died. To guard against usurpation he left the camp secretly 
and hastened home, but the fact that he had been allied with 
his father prevented any complication. 

There is a papyrus extant relating the adventures of 
Sanehat, a contemporary of Usertesen I., who was in the 
camp when the news of Amenemhat' s death came. Having 
been mixed up in a plot against the king and fearing that 
he might be put to death, he fled to Syria, where he passed 
several years, but was eventually permitted to return to 
Egypt, and had leisure to write an autobiography.' 

There was peace between Egypt and Asia at this time, 

and merchants could travel in safety, so that trade developed. 

The better to secure the country against Bedouin raids, a 

line of forts was built across the isthmus of Suez, the northern 

frontier of Egypt. In the south there were repeated cam- 

2 



18 EGYPT 

paigns against the native tribes and the country was brought 
under administration as far as Wady Haifa, where Amenem- 
hat III. erected forts, and fixed a Nilonieter in order that 
his officers might watch the state of the river. The country 
south of Wady Haifa, comprising the districts stretching to 
Dongola, perhaps to Berber, and called Cush, was raided 
unscrupulously by the kings of this dynasty, particularly by 
Usertesen III., who harried and plundered the natives without 
mercy. Nevertheless Egypt herself prospered under the 
dynasty, and was content. 

Amenemhat III. was famous for engineering works 
carried out at Lake Moeris in the province of the Fayum. There 
is a hollow here into which water passes from the Nile, 
thus creating an oasis, and Amenemhat I. had brought some 
of the surrounding country under cultivation. Amenemhat 
III. went further, adding about 20,000 acres to the fertile 
land of the oasis. 

Under the twelfth dynasty therefore Egypt flourished. 
There seems also to have been substantial advancement at 
this time in architecture, sculpture and literature. A hymn 
written in praise of Usertesen III. is a good example of 
Egyptian poetry. A few lines will suffice to show its 
character : — ■ 

He has come, he has ruled Egypt, 

He has placed the desert in his power. 
He has come, he has trampled on the nations, 

He has smitten the Anu, who knew not his terror. 
He has come, we bring up our children, 

We bury the aged by his good favour. 

The kings of the twelfth dynasty had for a time aban- 
doned Thebes, fixing their residence nearer the Delta, but 
conquest and extension of frontier towards the south revived 
the importance of the southern city ; and, when the twelfth 
dynasty failed, the sceptre again fell into the hands of the 
Theban lords, and Thebes became the capital of Egypt once 
more. 



THE MIDDLE KINGDOM 19 

Little is known of the thirteenth dynasty, but Egypt 
seems to have been fairly prosperous under it, and some of 
its sovereigns must have ruled over the whole land, for one 
has left statues of himself at Tanis and Bubastis in the 
Delta, as well as at Thebes. During this dynasty the Hyksos 
invasion began, and its later kings must have had a constant 
struggle with the foreign enemy. 

If the thirteenth dynasty is obscure, the fourteenth is 
yet more shadowy. Their seat of government was at Xois, 
in the Western Delta — the Eastern being under the government 
of the Hyksos. How the power of the native kings shifted 
from Thebes to Xois we do not know ; but the Hyksos had 
gained the supremacy, and Xois was perhaps the last strong- 
hold of the native administration. Professor Flinders Petrie 
thinks that the so-called kings of the fourteenth dynasty 
were "merely the puppets of the Hyksos power — the heads 
of the native administration which was maintained for taxing 
purposes ". 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE HYKSOS. 

Circa We come now to a period during which Egypt was under the 
power of Asiatics who invaded the country in overwhelming 
numbers, and settled in the Delta, ruling Egypt for several 
centuries before they were driven out by the kings of the 
seventeenth and eighteenth dynasties. 

Professor Sayce has suggested that these invaders, who 
were known as the Hyksos, came from Elam, and were of 
the same race as those who descended upon Babylonia and 
founded a dynasty there, the same movement perhaps sending 
some into Babylonia and others into Egypt. Or, since ex- 
perience has shown that one racial migration has generally 
caused others, it may be that the tribes dwelling in Syria 
and Northern Arabia, pressed hard by the Babylonians, who 
were themselves pressed by the Elamites, became invaders 
in their turn, and, encouraged by the feebleness of the 
Egyptian government of that time, swept down like locusts 
upon the tempting valley of the Nile. The Eastern Delta 
was soon conquered, but the Thebans fought vigorously, and 
a stand may also have been made in the Western Delta for 
a time. At last all yielded, and Salatis, the leader of the 
Asiatics, was recognised as king. After the first severities 
of the invasion, the Hyksos fell in with the habits of the 
people, governed through the old agencies in great part and 
respected religious prejudices. Zoan was chosen as their 
capital, and farther east, at Avaris, a huge, fortified camp 
was constructed which served the double purpose of pro- 
tecting their eastern frontier and training troops for keeping 

(20) 



THE HYKSOS 21 

Egypt in subjection. The Hyksos doubtless overran the 
whole country, for traces of them have been found south of 
Thebes, but their influence was probably more directly felt 
in Lower Egypt, and so long as the inhabitants of the 
upper provinces were submissive and paid tribute regularly 
they were left in the enjoyment of much local freedom. 

The Hyksos' period has a special interest, because during 
it the Hebrews appear upon the scene. Early in the period 
it seems likely that Abraham visited Egypt. The court was 
at Zoan, and therefore quite accessible from the Syrian side, 
and the fact that the rulers were Asiatics, and perhaps of 
the same race as Abraham, accounts for their friendly recep- 
tion of him. Some generations afterwards when Joseph was 
brought as a slave to Egypt the Hyksos still ruled, and the 
Pharaoh who showed him so much kindness must have 
been one of the later kings of their dynasty. The land of 
Goshen in which Joseph's brethren were permitted to settle 
was south of Zoan, at the mouth of the valley now traversed 
by the railway between Ismailia and Zagazig. The state- 
ment that every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyp- 
tians cannot be explained by the fact that Egypt had groaned 
under the tyranny of shepherd kings, seeing that Joseph's 
patron was himself one of that dynasty. It probably 
means no more than that the Egyptians, being averse to 
pastoral occupation, left the care of the cattle to the lowest 
orders of the people. 

Though all Egypt was under the Hyksos, their rule was 
most felt in the Delta, and the princes of Thebes never quite 
lost their independence. Gradually therefore the patriotic 
party rallied round them, and revolt began. 

The expulsion of the alien rulers was finally accomplished 
by the first king of the eighteenth dynasty, but the kings 
of the seventeenth have the credit of beginning the struggle. 
These kings appear to have had dark blood in their veins, and 
may have descended from some branch of the ancient royal 
family that had taken refuge in the south to escape from the 



22 EGYPT 

invaders. The seventeenth dynasty was contemporaneous with 
the Hyksos, the revolt spreading slowly from the south into 
Upper Egypt, then into Lower Egypt and finally into the 
Delta. So slow indeed was the process of expulsion that 
it must have been owing as much to the natural decay of 
the Hyksos power as to the valour of the Egyptians. 

The story of the final effort is told by an Egj^ptian officer 
named Ahmes, from whose autobiography we learn that 
Ahmes I., the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, defeated 
the Hyksos army in battle, captured their last stronghold 
in Egypt and chased them over the frontier even into Canaan. 
One or two efforts were made by the Hyksos to recover their 
position, but they were soon crushed out. But, although 
their army had been expelled, the invading race could not now 
be rooted out of Egypt ; for, during the centuries which had 
passed, there had been much intermarrying with the earlier 
inhabitants, and the permanent influence of the Asiatics upon 
the country must have been considerable. 



CHAPTER V. 

AN ASIATIC EMPIRE. 

DYNASTY XVIII — Ahmes, Amenhotep I., Thothmes I, Thothmes II, 1587. 
Hatshepsut, Thothmes III., Amenhotep II., Thothmes IV., Amen- 
hotep III, Akhenaten, Rasmenkhka, Tutankh-Amen, Ai, Horemheb. 

Though the Hyksos had been expelled and the government 
was again in the hands of a native dynasty, many foreigners 
remained in Egypt. Where these dwelt in accessible districts 
they were conquered and became serfs, but in the less accessible 
parts of the Delta, amongst the jungles and marshes, some 
tribes maintained a precarious independence. The presence 
of the Hyksos in Egypt had attracted others of Semitic race, 
amongst whom were the Hebrews who had settled in Goshen 
and were at first well treated, but eventually fell into serf- 
dom like the rest. 

When opposition ceased in the Delta, Ahmes I. turned his 
arms southward against the Soudanese and subdued them 
although not without difficulty. After this Egypt enjoyed 
a period of repose, and there was a revival of building activity 
from which Thebes especially profited. When Ahmes had 
reigned for twenty-five years he died, and having done so well 
for his country was worshipped for several centuries as a god. 

Amenhotep I. succeeded him, and then Thothmes I. came 
to the throne, under whom Egypt made a new departure in 
foreign affairs. Beyond short excursions for the sake of 
chastising the Bedouin, the Pharaohs had taken little interest 
in Asia until the Hyksos thrust it severely upon their notice. 

But Thothmes I., perhaps with some idea of avenging the long 

(23) 



24 EGYPT 

period of Egyptian humiliation, determined to carry his arms 
into that continent. The time was favourable for conquest, 
for the great powers which afterwards dominated Western 
Asia had not yet put forth their strength, and Thothmes I. 
had only to deal with loose tribal confederacies. The long 
struggle with the Hyksos and with the frontier tribes, had 
inured the Egyptians to warfare, and the expedition was 
successful, Thothmes raiding as far as the Euphrates, and 
returning to Thebes with much booty. After this the 
Pharaohs sent pillaging expeditions into Asia more or less 
frequently for hundreds of years until the great Asiatic king- 
doms arose and the tide of conquest turned. 

When Thothmes I. died, Hatshepsut, his eldest daughter, 
succeeded as colleague of her younger brother, Thothmes II. 
The queen was a woman of strong character and took full 
1503. control of affairs, and when her brother died after a short 
reign, she nominated a half-brother as Thothmes III., con- 
tinuing to rule as co-regent until he became old enough to 
rule by himself. Hatshepsut abstained from war and did 
Egypt excellent service, developing the resources of the country 
and reopening the mines in the Sinaitic peninsula, which had 
not been worked for centuries. She fitted out a fleet in the 
Red Sea, and sent it on a commercial expedition to Punt, 
where it was well received, and from which it brought back 
precious commodities. To commemorate this expedition the 
queen built a temple at Thebes, decorating the walls with 
frescoes, illustrative of its exploits. After her death Thothmes 
III. assumed full sovereignty and showed himself to be a most 
vigorous king. Hatshepsut had been averse to war, and 
much that Thothmes I. had gained in Syria had been lost. 
Thothmes III. determined to make the power of Egypt again 
felt, and marching into Asia routed the Syrians at Megiddo. 
Having been so successful in his first expedition he made 
many others, proving himself a courageous and capable leader. 
He was not content with reaching the Euphrates, but 
crossed it and penetrating into Mesopotamia, so overawed the 



AN ASIATIC EMPIEE 25 

Assyrians and Babylonians that they bought him off with 
gifts. The influence of Thothmes III. extended to Cyprus, the 
Isles of the iEgean, Phoenicia and Asia Minor, and for a time 
Egypt was supreme from the Taurus to Abyssinia. Of course 
Thothmes did not interfere with local affairs. The provinces 
governed themselves and fought amongst themselves as they 
liked, and so long as they paid tribute regularly Pharaoh was 
satisfied. These conquests brought Egypt into closer contact 
with the Asiatic world, and she learned many things. Having 
been so largely devoted to agriculture, the Egyptians had not 
made that progress in manufacture which might have been 
expected, and had much to learn from other nations. The 
gorgeous garments and elegant ornaments brought as spoil 
from Asia, inspired them with a desire to imitate, and their 
captives taught them the way. After this time also there was 
more intermarrying with Syria, and a considerable increase of 
Semitic influence at the court of Pharaoh. 

Attention has been drawn by historians to the fact that 
at this time Egypt, although herself so largely agricul- 
tural, was importing food stuffs from abroad. This proves 
that a considerable section of the population must have been 
engaged at other than agricultural work, chiefly, doubtless, 
on building operations. Amongst those so engaged were the 
Hebrews who had now been in Egypt several centuries, and 
had developed from a family into a people. 

Thothmes III. reigned for fifty-four years, and left 
behind him a high reputation as a conqueror. Amongst 
his monuments are two obelisks, one of which is now in 
New York, the other in London, 

Amenhotep II. succeeded, and after him Thothmes IV., 
who cleared the sand away from the sphinx, and set up a 
tablet between its paws. 

Amenhotep III., next ascended the throne, and reigned for 1414. 
thirty-one years. The supremacy of Egypt was now so widely 
recognised that he had few foreign wars, and the numerous 
tombs, tablets and buildings erected during this period show 



26 EGYPT 

it to have been one of peaceful progress. Two of Amenhotep's 
statues remain — the twin Colossi, of huge size and impressive 
appearance. One of the statues was called the vocal Memnon, 
because after it had been thrown down by earthquake in the 
reign of Tiberius it emitted a crackling noise at sunrise, which 
passed for music. The sound was caused by the expansion of 
the stone and ceased when the statue was repaired. Amen- 
hotep III. married Tyi, a princess of Northern Syria, and a 
worshipper of the solar disc, in honour of whose faith he 
built a temple. During his life this form of sun worship made 
1383. some progress in Egypt, and after his death his son Amen- 
hotep IV., having been trained in this faith by his mother, 
established it as the state religion and changed his name to 
Akhenaten (Brilliance of the Sun), in honour of the god. 
Sun worship was not new in Egypt, for it had been 
practised at Heliopolis, nor was it so degrading as the 
conventional idolatry. The adoration of the sun as the chan- 
nel through which the Supreme Being sustained, animated 
and reproduced life and power upon the earth, was founded 
upon a fundamental principle, although like other false religions 
it soon degenerated into mere idotatry. 

Akhenaten found the Theban priesthood so bitterly hostile 
to the change of worship that he removed the seat of govern- 
ment from Thebes, building a new capital farther north, with 
a gorgeous palace, at a place now known as Tel el-Amarna. 
When he removed to the new city he took with him the clay 
tablets upon which the foreign correspondence of his father 
was inscribed, and to these his own correspondence was added. 
The new capital only held its position for thirty years, after 
which it was deserted and soon perished, the buildings crum- 
bling and becoming mere mounds buried by the drifting 
sand. Quite recently these mounds have been explored and 
some hundreds of tablets have been dug up including many 
despatches from Asiatic princes and governors. The tablets 
throw a vivid light upon the history of the period. They prove 
that the language and writing of Babylonia were the common 



AN ASIATIC EMITKE 27 

medium of official communication in Western Asia, and were 
used freely by many who were not officials a century before 
the Exodus. They prove, moreover, that education must have 
been wonderfully general even at that early date. The letters 
from the governors of the Asiatic cities and provinces also 
show that whereas, during the reign of Amenhotep III., peace 
and loyalty prevailed in Syria, during the reign of Amenhotep 
IV. (Akhenaten), there was ever-increasing defection. 

Akhenaten left no son, but two married daughters, whose 
husbands succeeded him in turn. The first remained a 
worshipper of the solar disc until his death, but the second 
returned to the old idolatry, deserted the new capital and took 
the name of Tutankh-Amen in honour of the Egyptian gods. 

After these Ai, a usurper, governed a portion of Egypt for 
a time, and then Horemheb, the general of the forces, was 
placed on the throne, evidently with the approval of the army 
and the Theban priesthood. There had been many changes 
in Egypt, and the character of the army had materially altered. 
Formerly it had been feudal, the governors of the nomes 
rallying round the king in the hour of need, but the old 
nobility had largely disappeared, and the army was levied 
upon a basis of personal loyalty to the sovereign. 

Horemheb seems to have united Egypt under his rule, but 
he left no child, and his death closed the eighteenth dynasty. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE PHAEAOHS OF THE OPPRESSION. 

1327. DYNASTY XIX.— Ramses I., Sett L, Ramses II, Merenptah, Seti II., 

Si-Ptah. 

The eighteenth dynasty had become very Asiatic in tone, and 
its Asiatic tendencies had culminated in the reign of Akhenaten, 
who not only changed his religion but also deserted the sacred 
city of Thebes, and surrounded himself both in the priesthood 
and administration with foreigners. After the death of 
Akhenaten and of his immediate successor, there was a sharp 
reactiou, and aliens were either ejected from the country or 
depressed by persecution. 

Egypt's hold upon Asia was now relaxing, and many of 
her conquests had fallen into the hands of the Hittites. It 
will be remembered that these are mentioned in Genesis, 
where we read that Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah 
from Ephron the Hittite. Since the days of Abraham the 
tribe had developed into a powerful confederacy — their territory 
lying north of Lebanon, and stretching from the Taurus 
Mountains on the west to the important city of Carchemish 
on the east. The possession of Carchemish on the Euphrates 
and Kadesh on the Orontes gave them much strength, and 
they were the lords of Upper Syria. At this time also they 
had an able leader, one Saplal, under whom they had centralised 
their forces, and were now warring against Egypt and making 
havoc amongst her Syrian possessions. 

Horemheb, the last king of the eighteenth dynasty, had 

fought against the Hittites, and possibly made a treaty of 

(28) 



THE PHAEAOHS OF THE OPPEESSION 29 

peace with them. Ramses I., the founder of the nineteenth 
dynasty, was already old when he ascended the throne ; and, 1327. 
though he seems to have invaded Syria and attacked Saplal, 
he was glad to make a treaty of peace after an indecisive 
campaign. The work of reconquest, therefore, fell to his son 
Seti I., who determined not to lose Syria without a struggle 
and invaded it in the beginning of his reign with a powerful 
army. Saplal was now dead, and the Hittites, taken by sur- 
prise, made little resistance, so that Seti returned in triumph. 
He had marched as far as the Orontes, and had overawed the 
Canaanites and the Bedouin, but his expedition was of little 
permanent value. For the moment, however, Egyptian prestige 
was increased, and provinces which had not already gone over 
to the enemy were kept from lapsing. Fresh conquests were 
out of the question, and Seti was glad to come to terms with 
the Hittites whose supremacy was recognised north of Lebanon 
whilst Egypt kept Palestine. 

Seti I. was an industrious builder, evidences of his energy 
being found widely throughout Egypt. He built a beautiful 
temple at Abydos, but his greatest memorial is at Karnak, 
where he designed and began to build an enormous temple 
for the worship of Amon. He was only able to begin the 
work and his successors carried it on from reign to reign, but 
for boldness of conception it is almost unparalleled, and even 
in ruins it amazes the beholder. 

The oldest map in the world dates from the reign of Seti I., 
a map of a mining district drawn on papyrus. 

Ramses II. succeeded — a proud and vainglorious man, the 1275. 
Louis Quatorze of Egyptian history, yet in many respectsthe 
most interesting of the Pharaohs. He lived almost one hundred 
years and reigned sixty-seven ; he was successful in war 
and was the greatest of Egyptian builders. He was the 
Pharaoh of the persecution, the king who ordered that the 
Hebrew children should be slain, and the father of the princess 
who saved the life of Moses. It was at his court that Moses 
was educated, it was from his wrath that Moses fled, nor was 



30 EGYPT 

it until his death that Moses dared return. This has now 
been abundantly verified. Formerly it was thought that 
these events happened in the reign of Thothmes III., but it is 
now clear that Ramses II. was the Pharaoh of the oppression. 

Though the Hittites had been defeated by Seti I., they 
soon recovered their strength and Ramses determined to make 
an effort to regain the supremacy. Accordingly in his fifth 
year he invaded Syria, and fought a battle at Kadesh with 
the Hittite confederacy. After a severe struggle, in the course 
of which the king personally distinguished himself, the 
confederacy was defeated, but the Egyptians also suffered so 
heavily that they were glad to make peace and return to their 
own land. Shortly afterwards the Hittites renewed the war, 
and it dragged on until both Egyptians and Hittites grew tired 
of fighting and entered into an offensive and defensive alliance, 
the treaty being signed in the city of Ramses and confirmed 
by a marriage between Ramses and a daughter of the Hittite 
king. This definite recognition of the Hittites made a great 
change in the relationship of Egypt to her Asiatic dependencies, 
and although enterprising Pharaohs occasionally tried to re- 
cover lost ground, on the whole Egypt from this time settled 
down as a purely African power. 

The period which followed this alliance was one of pros- 
perity. Ramses II., though not a mighty warrior, was an 
able king, and did Egypt good service. Like other Oriental 
monarchs he spent too much upon tombs, temples and monu- 
ments, but he did not stop there. Canals were deepened, 
wells dug, caravan routes protected and trade encouraged. 
He further advanced the extraordinary temple at Karnak 
which his father had begun, and he built for his treasure 
and for the better protection of the Delta the cities of 
Pithom and Ramses, the site of the former of which has been 
discovered. 

These works were costly, and, as Ramses II. was not a 
great conqueror and tribute did not flow in so freely as in 
former reigns, money was hard to find. There was, therefore. 



THE PHAEAOHS OF THE OPPKESSION 31 

heavy taxation and forced labour, a large section of the 
population being compelled to toil on public works on a 
mere subsistence allowance. Amongst those so treated were 
the Hebrews, in early times wealthy and respected land- 
owners and cattle-dealers in Goshen, now treated as slaves, 
their pasture lands appropriated, their lives made bitter with 
hard bondage. 

The long reign of Ramses II. had somewhat enfeebled 1208. 
the royal power and Merenptah, his son, who succeeded him 
was, owing to his father's great age, himself past the prime 
of life when he came to the throne. " Thus one old man 
succeeded another at a moment when Egypt must have 
needed more than ever an active and vigorous ruler." Scarcely 
was Merenptah seated on the throne when trouble began. 
The Libyan tribes on the north-west frontier, living a half- 
starved, desert life, who had long looked with envy on the 
fertile valley of the Nile, now determined to invade Egypt, and 
gathering their possessions together advanced upon the western 
side of the Delta. Their first attacks were successful, the 
frontier towns were destroyed and the open country ravaged. 
Merenptah taken by surprise remained within the fortifica- 
tions of Memphis until an army was raised which defeated 
and scattered the tribes. The king has been accused 
of cowardice because he did not lead his army in person, 
but as he was over sixty years of age, this is not to be 
wondered at. 

He had a brief reign but was on the whole a successful 
king, apparently preserving the empire intact, so far as it had 
been handed down to him. 

After his death the monarchy rapidly decayed. Seti II. , 
his son, was a weak prince, and there was rebellion during 
his reign. Amon-messu either disputed the throne with 
him or seized it at his death, governing at Thebes in 
defiance of the lawful sovereign who was reigning in the 
north. Seti was succeeded by Si-Ptah who reigned for six 
years, and with him the nineteenth dynasty came to an end. 



32 EGYPT 

It was during this dynasty that the Exodus of the 
Children of Israel took place. There has been much dis- 
cussion as to the reign in which the event happened, Meren- 
ptah, Seti II. and Si-Ptah having their respective advocates. 
It is almost certain, however, that it was during the reign 
of Merenptah, in which the Egyptian legend of the Exodus 
places it. A stela discovered at Thebes by Professor Flinders 
Petrie in 1896 confirms this. Merenptah probably reigned 
between 1208 and 1187, so that although we do not know 
Circa the exact year of the Exodus the date has now been brought 
within reasonable limits. 

The plagues by means of which Pharaoh was influenced, 
and which culminated in the death of the first-born, probably 
lasted for some months, but at last the Hebrews were allowed 
to depart. Even then Pharaoh's fickleness of purpose induced 
him to pursue, with the result that he lost part of his army 
in the lakes which lie north of the Red Sea. 

The Exodus was well timed. Just a few years before, 
Palestine had been an Egyptian province and at that time 
the Hebrews would have been still within the grasp of Egypt 
even after they had entered Asia, but Egypt had now lost 
her grip and Palestine was no longer tributary. The Hebrews 
did not at once enter the land of promise, for when they 
reached its southern frontier their unfitness for the immediate 
conquest of the country became so evident that the event 
was delayed for a generation. During this time they dwelt 
in the mountains of Seir, but, at last, when the timid rabble 
which had left Egypt had given place to a new and hardy 
generation, they crossed the Jordan and entered the promised 
land. 

Meanwhile things had been going badly in Egypt and the 
central government had broken down. The governors of the 
various provinces ceased to acknowledge any superior, and 
warred amongst themselves. In the words of a papyrus, 
"there was no master, and for a time the country belonged to 
the governors of cities, one massacring another ". Emboldened 



THE PHAKAOHS OF THE OPPEESSION 33 

by these internal divisions, Arisu, a Phoenician prince, invaded 
Egypt, seized the' throne, and proceeded to conquer the country 
province by province. The days of the empire seemed num- 
bered, the direct line of Ramses II. was extinct, and the 
country whose conquests had extended to Mesopotamia was 
now struggling for existence. 



CHAPTER VII. 

A DECLINING POWER. 

Egypt's brilliant period seemed now to have passed away. 
Three centuries before, she had set out on a career of conquest 
and Thothmes III. had raised her to a climax of imperial 
grandeur, but his conquests had been lost, and both at home 
and abroad she was surrounded by difficulties. At home the 
nineteenth dynasty had ended ingloriously — a Syrian prince 
was on the throne of the Pharaohs, the leading Egyptian 
nobles were banished, everywhere there was confusion and 
civil war. For the loss of their foreign possessions the 
Pharaohs were not entirely responsible. In the earlier days 
there had been no Asiatic power capable of holding its own 
against Egypt, but this was no longer the case. The 
Hittites had become powerful, and Assyria was making her 
influence felt, and although the Hittite empire faded and 
the Assyrian went under a cloud, the empire of David and 
Solomon took their place and effectually barred the door of 
Asia against Egypt. Her career had been distinguished, 
and she was yet destined to enjoy much prosperity, but her 
chance of world-wide empire had passed away. 

For a time the country was enabled to escape the indig- 
nity of prolonged foreign domination, her deliverer arising 
from that Theban race to which she already owed so 
much. Setnekht, a Theban prince, began the war of indepen- 
dence, and after hard fighting drove Arisu, the Phoenician, 
from power and recovered Egypt for the Egyptians. In 

fighting for Egyptian freedom Setnekht fought his own way 

(34) 




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A DECLINING POWEE 35 

to the throne, and being already an old man he associated 
his son, Ramses III., with himself in the government. 

Ramses III. was a distinguished monarch who reigned for 1180. 
thirty years, and did his country good service. When he 
ascended the throne Egypt was in anything but a healthy 
condition, for the years of anarchy had wrought great evil. 
" The people lived in banishment abroad. The land belonged 
to princes from foreign parts. They slew one another, whether 
noble or mean." 

Ramses restored order at home and abroad. His first 
foreign trouble was with the Libyans. Since their last in- 
vasion of Egypt in the reign of Merenptah they had been 
growing in strength, pressing more and more on the Delta 
and seizing fertile land wherever they could. So formidable 
had they become that Ramses dared not attack them without 
much preparation. His army was weak, the old warlike 
spirit had died out from amongst the Egyptians, and 
for both army and navy he had to depend greatly upon 
mercenaries. Accordingly he determined to reorganise the 
military service, and it was well that he did, for in the fifth 
year of his reign the tribes of the western desert poured in 
great force into the Delta. Ramses, however, was ready for 
them, and a battle was fought in which they were defeated 
with terrible slaughter. 

In his eighth year Ramses III. had to deal with a vast 
tribal movement from Asia Minor and the islands of the 
Mediterranean. Possibly the movement had begun beyond 
the Balkans, the northern tribes making one of those migra- 
tions to the south which have played so important a part in 
history, pressing the southern tribes before them as waves of 
the sea are pressed before a mighty wind. The tribes coming 
by land brought with them their women, children and house- 
hold gods, a vast, undisciplined array, and to support them 
there sailed a formidable fleet. Ramses concentrated an army 
beyond the frontier and completely defeated the land forces 
of the enemy, and then assembling a fleet at the mouth of the 



36 EGYPT 

Nile, and apparently enticing the enemy into a lagoon, he 
encircled and destroyed them, thus almost annihilating their 
forces both by land and sea. 

In his eleventh year the African tribes again crossed the 
western frontier, but were heavily defeated, and so dis- 
couraged that they broke up their confederacy. They now 
abandoned their efforts against Egypt, and became once more 
the scattered tribes from amongst whom the Pharaohs 
recruited their army and fleet. 

Egypt had now rest from foreign foes, and Ramses III. 
was able to attend to the development of her resources. 
The mines in the Sinaitic peninsula were again worked, 
and an Egyptian fleet trafficked on the Red Sea. Cities 
and temples were restored, and a palace of very elaborate 
design was built. During Ramses' reign Egypt prospered, 
and he must be reckoned one of the great Pharaohs. 

Kings of the same name followed, occupying the throne 
for a century and a half, but their reigns were undistinguished. 
The character of the Egyptians had degenerated. The rulers 
preferred the luxury of the palace to the task of government. 
The old nobility had disappeared, the poor spent their lives at 
forced labour, and were so wretchedly paid that, although 
little better than slaves, they had the spirit to hold indignation 
meetings, and even to strike. Our sympathy is the more 
aroused when we find that the demand of the strikers was 
for bread, and that much of their misery arose from the 
theft of their rations by officials. 

There was apparently no lack of money in Egypt had it 
been distributed with any degree of fairness. Much tribute 
and spoil had flowed into the country and little had gone out, 
so that there was abundance of precious metal, and the passion 
of the time was for jewelry and gorgeous furniture. But far 
too great a proportion of the wealth had passed into the hands 
of the aristocracy, and especially into the hands of the priests. 
The position of the priests had always been an important one 
in Egypt, and from early times much of the land had belonged 



A DECLINING POWEE 37 

to them. The chief temples were at Heliopolis, Memphis and 
Thebes, and the High Priest of Thebes, or as he was termed 
" the first prophet of Anion," took rank after the king. Formerly 
it had been the duty of the king to nominate this high function- 
ary, and care had been taken to choose a loyal supporter, or 
even a member of the royal house. But in the reign of 
Ramses III. the high priest nominated his own son as successor, 
and after that the office was treated as hereditary. Thus it 
came to pass that one dynasty of kings, and another of powerful 
and wealthy priests ran parallel in Egypt. The kings, content 
with lives of pleasure, gradually allowed the high priests to 
usurp the duties of government, and when at last with the 
death of Ramses XIII., the twentieth dynasty came to an 
end, Her-Hor, the High Priest of Amon, ascended the throne, 
Thebes and Southern Egypt acquiescing in his succession. 

Her-Hor, the founder of the dynasty of priest kings, the 1048. 
twenty-first Egyptian dynasty, was a powerful man who had 
already held important offices of state, so that the transition 
was easy. But the change did not command universal approval, 
for, though the direct royal line had become extinct, collateral 
branches of the family were to be found, and whilst the priest 
kings were governing Southern Egypt, the Delta was ruled 
by rivals who held their court at Tanis and claimed royal 
descent. This division of the country into two Egypts, a 
division which is believed to have existed in the earliest times, 
was now destined to have some permanence. Theban or 
Southern Egypt tended to become more African in its character, 
whilst Northern Egypt, keeping in touch with Europe and 
Asia, became more cosmopolitan. The immediate result of 
the division was, however, civil war and a political feebleness 
which lasted for a century. Nor was Egypt at this time in 
a better condition socially than politically. From the reign 
of Ramses III. until the end of the priest dynasty, a period of 
two and a half centuries, there is little worthy of record. 
Architecture retrograded, literature made no progress, and 
the nation steadily degenerated in moral tone, violence 



38 EGYPT 

abounding, and robbery becoming a profession. It had long 
been the custom to bury wealthy Egyptians with ornaments 
and jewels, and corporations of thieves were formed for pillag- 
ing the cemeteries. The tombs of kings and of the rich were 
plundered, and with so much secrecy that the thefts were 
sometimes not discovered for years. Occasionally the law 
made a show of interfering, but officials were easily bribed, 
and for the most part crime went unpunished. 

Whilst Egypt was thus decaying other countries advanced. 
During the twentieth dynasty Assyria had seemed likely to 
take the foremost place, but her power declined for a time, 
and the kingdom founded by Saul and raised to greatness by 
David and Solomon became supreme in Syria. The Exodus 
had taken place towards the end of the nineteenth dynasty, 
and the conquest of Canaan by the Hebrews occurred during 
the reign of Ramses III. The period of Egyptian depression 
was therefore coeval with that of the Judges, and whilst the 
government of Egypt was thus distracted and divided between 
dynasties ruling at Tanis and Thebes David built up the 
Hebrew empire, extending from the Red Sea to the Euphrates. 
David kept on friendly terms with Egypt, and Solomon married 
an Egyptian princess, the daughter of one of the last of the 
Pharaohs of the Tanite dynasty. Friendship between the 
peoples led to extended commerce, but the Hebrews gained 
little by it in morality. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE GRAPPLE WITH ASSYRIA. 

Nothing is more striking in connection with Egyptian history 
than the way in which the seat of government shifted from 
place to place. In most countries the capital city is fixed 
even when the dynasty changes, but in Egypt it often shifted 
with the dynasty, and This, Memphis, Elephantine, Heracleo- 
polis, Thebes, Xois, Tanis, Bubastis and Sais, each in turn 
aspired to metropolitan dignity. 

During the period covered by the twenty-first dynasty 
kings had been reigning both at Tanis and Thebes, but both 
dynasties had decayed, and there was need in Egypt for a 
strong man if the country was to be reunited. The strong 
man came in the person of Shishak, the founder of the 945. 
twenty-second dynasty. Shishak was captain of the Libyan 
mercenaries, and these becoming powerful in Egypt at last 
rose against their employers and set their own chief upon the 
throne. 

Shishak proved to be an energetic and warlike sovereign, 
and when he had restored order throughout Egypt he began 
to look towards Syria with longing eyes. Solomon still 
reigned and the united Hebrew kingdom was too strong for 
Shishak to attack, but he watched the Jewish king's waning 
popularity with satisfaction and did his best to foment re- 
bellion. When Jeroboam conspired and had to fly he found a 
welcome at the court of Shishak, and on Solomon's death, the 
refugee returning home, proved a ready instrument by which 
the Hebrew kingdom might be rent in twain. 

In the fifth year of Rehoboam Shishak led his forces 927. 

(39) 



40 EGYPT 

against Judaea, and Rehoboam was overawed and made little 
resistance, so that Jerusalem was captured and the temple and 
palace were spoiled of the treasures which had been gathered 
in such abundance by Solomon. In the record at Karnak 
of this campaign there occur the names of many captured 
cities, and of these some were Israelitish, so that it looks as if 
the raid were directed against both Hebrew kingdoms, and not 
specially against Judah. 

After Shishak several kings reigned at Bubastis, but they 
were men of an inferior type, and we know little of their 
achievements. When Egypt had been suzerain of Judaea for 
thirty years Asa rebelled, and defeated a huge army sent 
against him so completely that the astonished Egyptians ceased 
to dream of Asiatic empire. 

810. The Bubastite dynasty was followed by the twenty-third 

dynasty, the kings of which ruled from Tanis, but their history 

721. is quite obscure. They were succeeded by the kings of the 
twenty-fourth dynasty who ruled at Sais. 

During this period of weakness the country south of Egypt 
known as Ethiopia, and in modern times as the Soudan, was 
prospering. There was much affinity between Egypt and 
Ethiopia in language, customs and religion, but for many 
centuries Egypt had been supreme. Profiting by the weakness 
of her suzerain, Ethiopia had of late recovered her independ- 
ence, and was now under the rule of Piankhi whose capital 
city was Napata. Piankhi advanced as far as Memphis, and 
was victorious, but was not strong enough to consolidate his 
power in Lower Egypt and retired to Napata leaving the 

715. native kings ruling in Sais. Some years after another Ethio- 
pian king arose named Shabak, who, being made of sterner 
stuff, reconquered Egypt, captured Bocchoris, the Egyptian 
king, and is said to have burned him to death. 

Whilst Ethiopia was thus in the ascendant, Assyria over- 
shadowed Western Asia, and only the now feeble kingdoms 
of Israel and Judah lay between Egypt and this formid- 

727. able power. On the death of Tiglath-Pileser III. (Pul), the 



THE GRAPPLE WITH ASSYRIA 41 

subject peoples had revolted, the Israelites amongst the rest, 
and Samaria was besieged by Shalmaneser IV. That king- 
did not live to complete the conquest, but Sargon, his successor, 
took the city by storm and carried Israel away captive to 722. 
Assyria. 

Two years later, Sargon was again in the west, and, march- 
ing past Judah, he attacked Gaza, a city of Philistia. Hanun, 
the king of Gaza, besought Egypt for help, and the Egyptian 
king Bocchoris sent an army under Shabe, one of his generals, 
to his relief. Sargon encountered the allies at Raphia, Assyria 720, 
and Egypt thus meeting for the first time. The Assyrians 
were completely victorious — Hanun was taken prisoner, Shabe 
barely escaped with his life. 

Sometime afterwards, Sargon having been assassinated 
and his son Sennacherib being on the throne, Western Asia 
made another struggle for freedom. Amongst the rest 
Hezekiah, king of Judah, revolted, and the aid of Egypt was 
sought. Shabatok was now reigning, and, when Sennacherib 
invaded Judaea, the Egyptians marched to help the Jewish 
king, but were completely defeated at Eltekeh and retired 701. 
within their own borders. Sennacherib marched throughout 
Judah plundering and destroying, but Hezekiah held out in 
Jerusalem under circumstances which the Bible has made 
familiar to us, and Sennacherib's army at last met with the 
great disaster which necessitated his return to Assyria. 

Sennacherib did not again attack either Judah or Egypt, 681. 
but with the accession of Esarhaddon, his son, there was a 
change of policy. Tirhakah reigned in Egypt, and Judah was 
governed by Manasseh, an unpopular and irreligious king, 
when Esarhaddon determined to perfect the conquest which his 
father had begun. Accordingly he marched west with a great 
army, and having easily defeated Manasseh, descended upon 671. 
Egypt. Tirhakah made an obstinate defence, but was at last 
driven southward until he took refuge in Ethiopia, Esar- 
haddon reaching Thebes. The Assyrian king completely re- 
organised the Egyptian government, placing in each of the 



42 EGYPT 

twenty provinces into which the country was divided a 
viceroy with an Assyrian garrison. 

After Esarhaddon had returned to Nineveh, things went 
well enough for a time; but Tirhakah's party again got the 
ascendency, and Thebes sympathising, Memphis was captured 
and the invaders were driven out. Esarhaddon set out to 

668. suppress the revolt, but died on the way, and was succeeded 
by his son Assur-bani-pal. 

The new king was as warlike as his father, and Tirhakah, 
defeated in the Delta, again fled to Napata. The viceroys were 
reappointed and Assur-bani-pal returned to Nineveh in triumph. 
But scarcely had he reached Assyria when he heard that the 
viceroys were plotting with Tirhakah, and planning a fresh 
rebellion. The prime leader in the revolt was Necho, the 
prince of Sais, the ablest of the viceroys, and he was 
captured and sent in chains to Nineveh. Assur-bani-pal now 
tried a new plan. Recognising Necho's ability he sent him 
back as his chief representative with Assyrian troops to sup- 
port him, and at the same time gave a principality to his son 
Psamatik. Tirhakah was unable to withstand these princes, 
and retired to Ethiopia where he died. Shortly after his 
death his successor, Tuant-Amon, made a further attempt, and, 
Thebes having opened her gates to receive him, he marched 
upon Memphis. The city was taken, Necho was slain, 
Psamatik fled, and Ethiopia was again supreme. 

666. Assur-bani-pal now made a determined effort. Invading 

Egypt in person he defeated Tuant-Amon, chased him to Thebes,, 
and from Thebes to Ethiopia. Thebes was terribly punished 
for its rebellious tendencies. Its temples, monuments and 
palaces were destroyed, its treasure carried to Nineveh, its 
people led away captive. The destruction of this ancient city 
made a profound impression on the world, and is referred to 
by Nahum, the prophet, who threatens Nineveh herself with 
a similar fate. " Art thou better than No-Amon (Thebes), 
that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round 
about her ; whose rampart was the Nile, and her wall was of 



THE GEAPPLE WITH ASSYEIA 43 

the Nile ? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was 
infinite ; Put and Lubim were her helpers. Yet was she 
carried away, she went into captivity : her young children 
also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets : and 
they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men 
were bound in chains." 

This long period of fighting, both with Ethiopia and 
Assyria, had told terribly upon Egypt. The fertile valley of 
the Nile, only a few miles wide, was trodden under foot 
again and again by fiercely-contesting armies. The cities had 
been destroyed, the temples plundered, the monuments broken 
in pieces. The glory had apparently departed. National 
records ceased and the history of the period has to be searched 
for amongst the writings of the Greeks. Assyria had triumphed, 
and it seemed as if Egypt must now content herself with being 
a fief of that empire. Yet at this moment of deepest depression 
forces were at work which were destined to crush Assyria, and 
give to Egypt a new lease of life. 



CHAPTER IX. 

RESTORATION. 

Having once more crushed the Ethiopian invader, and re- 
established the viceregal system in Egypt, the Assyrians 
withdrew from the country, and, as it happened, were never 
again able to meddle with its affairs. The mighty empire 
which had so long overridden Western Asia was now herself 
on the brink of ruin. First she had to deal with a war in 
Elam, and then with revolts in Babylonia, Arabia and Lydia. 
Scarcely had she emerged exhausted from these troubles when 
she was trodden under foot by the Scythians who poured into 
Asia at this time, and spread over almost her whole empire. 
Finally, when still breathless from this invasion, she was 
attacked by the Medes and Babylonians and succumbed. 

During the early part of this period, whilst Assyria was 
still grappling with her revolted provinces at home, Egypt 
was left to herself, and her viceroys were practically indepen- 
dent princes. Amongst these the most capable was Psamatik, 
the prince of Sais, son of that Necho, who had been promoted 
to high honour by Assur-bani-pal, and afterwards slain by 
Tuant-Amon the Ethiopian. Aware of the difficulties by which 
664. his suzerain was surrounded, Psamatik determined to restore 
Egyptian independence, and to endeavour to reunite the country 
under his own rule. Being himself apparently of foreign 
descent, he had not the Egyptian prejudice against foreigners, 
and is said to have made alliance with Gyges, king of Lydia, 
who sent him Greek mercenaries. With the aid of the 

Greeks he expelled such Assyrian garrisons as had not already 

(44) 



EESTOEATION 45 

been withdrawn, and having triumphed over the other princes 
at length gained sovereignty over the whole of Egypt. 

Psamatik proved an excellent sovereign, and under his 
rule the country revived. He restored canals and roads, 
rebuilt cities and temples, and brought the devastated lands 
once more under cultivation. Egypt had suffered grievously, 
the more influential cities had been sacked and burnt, the less 
important had suffered in their degree. Much restoration 
was necessary, and under Psamatik the valley of the Nile 
became "one huge workshop," so that the country began to 
lift up her head. 

Under this dynasty, the twenty-sixth, a salutary change 
came over Egypt with regard to her treatment of foreigners. 
Egyptians had been extremely exclusive, but Psamatik know- 
ing that by foreigners he had won and was holding his crown, 
invited the Greeks to settle in Egypt and encouraged commerce 
between Egypt and the Mediterranean ports. It was during 
his reign that the Scythian invasion of which we have spoken 
took place, and their van even reached the Egyptian frontier, 
but the king prudently bribed them to retrace their steps. 

As Assyria was now helpless, Psamatik made some effort 
to restore to Egypt her ancient Asiatic empire. He invaded 
Philistia and besieged Ashdod, but the siege was very tedious, 
lasting for thirteen years. At last the city fell, and was 
occupied by an Egyptian garrison, but Psamatik 's experiences 
at Ashdod did not encourage him to advance farther into Syria. 

Necho II. succeeded his father, and during his reign 610. 
final destruction overtook Nineveh. A treaty was made be- 
tween Cyaxares, the Mede, and Nabopolassar of Babylon, the 
object of which was the overthrow of the Assyrian Empire. 
Necho determined to share in the plunder, and attacked 
Assyria on the west, while the others besieged the capital. 
He had a well-equipped army and fleet, and the latter 
gave his soldiers valuable support during the wearisome 
desert journey between Egypt and Palestine. When at 
length he turned to march inland it was necessary that he 



46 EGYPT 

should cross Judsean territory, and Josiah, king of Judah, 
prepared to oppose him. Necho protested saying, " My war 
is upon Euphrates," but Josiah gave him battle at Megiddo 

608. in the plain of Esdraleon, east of Carmel, and was defeated 
and slain. 

After Megiddo, Necho marched on the Euphrates and 
captured Carchemish. On his return journey he captured 
Jerusalem and deposed Jehoahaz, the new king, making Jehoia- 
kim king in his stead. Thus in one campaign Necho had 
apparently revived Egypt's Asiatic glory, having added Pales- 
tine and much of Syria to his dominions. But the triumph 

606. was short lived. Nineveh fell, and the spoils were divided — 
Cyaxares seizing Northern Assyria and Nabopolassar taking 
Babylon and the Euphrates Valley. Necho still held Syria 
but was attacked almost at once by Nebuchadrezzar, the war- 

605. like son of Nabopolassar and driven headlong from Carchemish 
back to his own country. 

Necho thus rudely awakened from his dreams of empire 
resolved to devote himself to home affairs. In these he 
showed enterprise and ability. In an endeavour to find a 
means of transporting ships from the Mediterranean to the 
Red Sea he partially restored the canal which had been 
made in former ages connecting the Red Sea with the Nile, 
but superstition apparently interfered with the completion of 
the work. He next fitted out a fleet, and engaged Phoenician 
sailors to explore the African coast and see whether Africa 
was circumnavigable. The fleet sailed down the Red Sea 
into the Southern Ocean, and in the third year returned by 
way of the Straits of Gibraltar to Egypt. As the sailors had 
not only to land nightly, but also to lay up their ships, sow 
grain and wait for harvest when they ran short of provisions, 
their perseverance was unparalleled and the voyage is one of 
the most wonderful in history. The stories brought home by 
the sailors about a reversal in the sun's course, which were 
received by their countrymen with incredulity, are now known 
to prove that they accomplished the feat. 



EESTOEATION 47 

Psamatik II., who succeeded Necho II., had a reputation 594. 
for wisdom which travelled beyond Egypt, for an embassy 
came from Greece to consult him concerning the rules of the 
Olympic games. 

About this time Zedekiah was king of Judah, having been 
placed on the throne by Nebuchadrezzar. He remained loyal 
to his suzerain for nine years, but at length revolted, and 
Jerusalem was besieged by a Babylonian army. Psamatik II. 
was dead, and his son Apries, the Pharaoh Hophra of Scripture, 
sent an army to help the Jewish king. For the moment it 
was successful, for the Babylonians raised the siege of Jeru- 
salem and retired, whilst the Egyptians captured Gaza and 
penetrated to Phoenicia. But these were barren victories. 
The Babylonians returned with irresistible force, Jerusalem 
was captured and destroyed, the people carried into captivity, 588. 
the kingdom brought to an end, and the king carried blinded 
to Babylon. Gedaliah was made governor of Judah, but was 
murdered, and the Jews fled to Egypt and settled at Tah- 
panhes in the Eastern Delta. 

In Egypt itself there was rebellion. Apries had aroused 
the jealousy of the Egyptians by his pro-Hellenic policy, and 
Amasis, his brother-in-law, led a revolt against him. A battle 
was fought at Sais and Apries was captured and deposed, 570. 
Amasis succeeding him. Apries was treated well for a time, 
but afterwards put to death. 

Nebuchadnezzar is said to have invaded Egypt in the 568. 
thirty-seventh year of his reign, to have defeated Amasis, 
and to have overrun the Delta, but the information con- 
cerning the invasion is exceedingly scanty, and it may never 
have taken place. 

Amasis endeavoured to develop the material resources of 
the country and in so doing made a free use of foreigners. 
Although it was the anti-Hellenic policy which had placed 
him upon the throne his accession made no difference to the 
Greeks, who were too useful to be done without. He en- 
couraged their settlement, and allowed them to found Naucratis 



48 EGYPT 

in the Western Delta on the model of a Greek city. During 
this reign Egypt was visited by three eminent Greek philo- 
sophers, Solon, Thales and Pythagoras, and Greek influence 
began to permeate Egypt more and more. 

547. At this time a new power was arising in Asia, Cyrus the 

Great having begun his career of conquest. Croesus, king of 
Lydia, alarmed at the progress of the conqueror, persuaded 
Egypt and Babylon to join in alliance against him. The 
alliance was very ineffective, for Cyrus could attack the 
confederates in turn and they were too far apart to support 
one another. Accordingly Lydia was first reckoned with, 

538. then Babylon fell, and only Egypt remained. Cyrus had 
work nearer home and postponed his vengeance, and but that 
Amasis committed a further folly in attacking Cyprus and 
withdrawing it from Persian suzerainty his earlier fault might 
have been forgotten. But this second defiance could not pass 
unpunished, and when Cambyses succeeded Cyrus he at once 
made arrangements for the invasion of Egypt both by land 
and sea. 

Amasis died before Cambyses reached the country, and 
Psamatik III., who succeeded him, proved no match for the 
Persians. After being defeated at Pelusium he fled to Mem- 
phis where he was besieged. The city was taken by assault, 
after acts of ferocity on both sides. Psamatik was captured 

525. and spared for a time, but afterwards executed, and with his 
death the twenty-sixth dynasty came to an end. 



CHAPTER X. 

PERSIAN SUPREMACY. 

The Persian conquest brought to an end a dynasty which had 525. 
ruled Egypt well, and under which she had enjoyed a fair 
measure of prosperity. 

The account given by Herodotus of the actions of Camby- 
ses represents him as tyrannising over the people and showing 
contempt for their religious feelings, but recent discoveries 
prove his stories to be unfounded. Formerly it was sup- 
posed that Cyrus and Cambyses were monotheists, and it was 
thought that the latter might on that account have shown 
contempt for the gods of Egypt, but we now know that they 
were idolaters themselves, and therefore by no means likely to 
have been intolerant of Egyptian idolatry. Monuments have 
been discovered representing Cambyses in attitudes of worship 
before Egyptian gods, and there seems no reason to believe 
that he was regarded by the Egyptians with more dislike 
than was natural towards a conqueror. Cambyses spent 
the greater part of his reign in Egypt ; but, after his 
death, the country was left in the hands of satraps, who 
governed in very arbitrary fashion, and caused the name of 
Persia to become hateful to the Egyptians. 

Unfortunately for himself Cambyses was not content with 

the conquest of Egypt, but determined also to conquer Africa, 

and planned expeditions against Carthage, the oasis of Amon, 

and Ethiopia. The first had to be abandoned because the 

Phoenicians who formed the bulk of his fleet refused to attack 

their own colony ; he sent 50,000 men against the oasis and 

not one returned, and finally when he himself led an army 
4 (49) 



50 EGYPT 

against Ethiopia it ran short of supplies, and had to return 
precipitately to escape disaster. These reverses lowered 
Cambyses' prestige, and, combined with his long absence from 
the capital, encouraged revolution. 

Cyrus had left two sons, Cambyses and Bardes, but shortly 
after their father's death Cambyses had his brother secretly 
assassinated. Afterwards, during his absence in Egypt, a 
man named Gomates, who resembled Bardes in appearance, 
personated him and seized the throne. Cambyses heard of 
the revolution and started homeward, but died on the way, 
leaving the usurper master of the empire. After a few 
months a counter conspiracy was raised against Gomates, he 
was slain and the empire fell into the hands of Darius 
Hystaspis. 

521. Darius had some trouble in subduing the revolts against 

his rule which sprang up on every side, but after the empire 
was pacified he undertook, with great earnestness and ability, 
the work of organisation. The empire was divided into 
satrapies, each of which was governed by a ruler appointed 
by the king and bound very closely to the central autho- 
rity. In Egypt Darius seems to have acted with judgment, 
and to have pleased the people by assuming the titles of their 
ancient kings 

490. The battle of Marathon greatly discredited the arms of 

Persia, and the patriotic party in Egypt were encouraged to 
rise against their conquerors. They were successful in defeat- 
ing and expelling the Persian garrisons, and setting a native 
sovereign, Khabbash, on the throne. Darius prepared to 

486. quell the revolt, but died before this was achieved. Xerxes, 
his son, succeeded him, and reconquered Egypt, using much 
severity, and appointing his brother, Achsemenes, as satrap, 

480. who ruled with an iron hand. When Xerxes invaded Greece, 
Egypt supplied 200 ships to the fleet which accompanied his 
ill-fated expedition. 

460. During the reign of Artaxerxes I. Egypt again revolted 

and a prolonged war ensued. The Egyptians, led by Inarus, 






PEESIAN SUPEEMACY 51 

king of Libya, and Ainyrtseus, an Egyptian, were at first 
successful, the Persian garrisons being destroyed and Achae- 
menes slain. At this time Athens was under the government 458. 
of Pericles, who, thinking it wise to attack Persia wherever 
he could, sent 200 galleys to help the Egyptians. A few 
years later, the war being still prolonged, another expedition 
of the same magnitude was sent by Athens, and it was evident 
that nothing but a supreme effort would enable Persia to 
maintain a hold upon her dependency. Artaxerxes accordingly 
sent a huge army under Megabazus, and after varied fortune 
the rebellion was crushed. The Athenian fleet had sailed up 
the Nile to Memphis, and Megabazus, having cut off their 
retreat, besieged them with their Egyptian allies in the island 
of Prosopitis. He next diverted one of the branches of the 
Nile so that his forces could reach the island on foot, and then 454. 
crossing with overwhelming numbers cut them to pieces. Of 
the Athenians only a few scattered fugitives escaped, Inarus 
was killed and Amyrtseus driven into the marshes of the Delta. 
Not long after these events Herodotus visited Egypt, and 
he describes the battle-field strewn with the ghastly relics of 
the fight. 

Under Darius Nothus Egypt again rose, and this time 
with so much success that for more than half a century she 
maintained independence. During this period she had three 
dynasties of native kings. The twenty-eighth dynasty con- 415. 
sisted of but one king, AmyrtEeus, perhaps the grandson of 
the friend and ally of King Inarus. He was succeeded by 
Nepherites, the first monarch of the twenty-ninth dynasty, 396. 
who reigned for seven years and sent a fleet of 100 ships to 
help the Spartans, but it was intercepted by the Athenian 
fleet at Rhodes and dispersed. The thirtieth dynasty was 
founded by Nectanebo I., whose capital was Sebennytus. 
Artaxerxes II. was now king of Persia, and, determined to 
subdue Egypt, he sent an overwhelming force of Persians and 
Greek mercenaries under the joint command of Pharnabazus 
and Iphicrates. They easily scattered the Egyptians who 



52 EGYPT 

were guarding the frontier, and Iphicrates wished to push 
on to Memphis without delay, and strike at the heart of the 
empire, but Pharnabazus refused and the result was disastrous. 
The season for campaigning in Egypt passed, the Nile rose, 
the Egyptians gathered forces and won a battle and the army 
had to be withdrawn. This success greatly increased the 
reputation of Nectanebo, and Egypt had peace for some years 
and again lifted up her head. 

364. Tachos, who succeeded Nectanebo, unwisely provoked 

Persia by attacking Phoenicia — one of her provinces. He 
made alliance with Agesilaus, king of Sparta, and was also 
aided by a Greek fleet. Sparta was in sore straits for money 
and Tachos offered heavy subsidies in return for help, so 
Agesilaus himself led the Spartan contingent. But Tachos 
foolishly quarrelled with Agesilaus and went to Phoenicia in 
person against his advice, so when during his absence his 
cousin Nectanebo revolted, Agesilaus and his mercenaries 
went over to the side of the usurper and deposed Tachos who 
took refuge at the court of Artaxerxes. Nectanebo II. re- 
warded Agesilaus generously for his services, and the Spartan 

360. king now eighty-four years of age, set out to take the money 
home but died on the way. 

For a time Nectanebo II. governed the country successfully, 
and many monuments testify to his endeavours to cultivate 
art. With the aid of Greek generals and mercenary troops 
he successfully resisted the Persians, who again and again 
invaded Egypt. But at last Artaxerxes III. (Ochus) deter- 
mined to reduce the country and raised a mighty army of 
340,000 men with which he advanced upon Egypt. Nectanebo 
had also a large force, including 20,000 Greeks, and might 
have made a stand, but at the first repulse he lost heart and 
fell back on Memphis, whence, on the approach of Ochus, he 
fled southward into Ethiopia. Ochus then crushed out the 

349. rebellion with great cruelty, and Egypt once more became a 
Persian satrapy and was never again free. 



CHAPTER XI. 

MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY. 

The Persians used their new lease of power in Egypt injudi- 
ciously. Themselves monotheists, they had little regard for 
idol worshippers, but persecuted their priests and took no care 
of their temples. In other respects they governed well enough. 
Their taxation does not seem to have been oppressive ; at any 
rate Alexander did not reduce it when he became master of 
the country. 

The news of Alexander's invasion and of his success at 334. 
the Granicus created a sensation in Egypt, and after the battle 
of Issus the Egyptians looked forward to his coming with 
pleasure — both priests and people hoping that the change of 
masters would bring them some relief. Alexander accordingly 332. 
entered Egypt unopposed, and his march towards Memphis 
was a triumphal progress. The city at once opened its gates 
and made him a present of 800 talents — a welcome addition to 
his treasury. 

Gratified by his reception Alexander showed the Egyptians 

every consideration, respecting their religious feelings, and 

sacrificing to their local gods. From Memphis he planned 

an excursion into the Libyan desert to the oasis where stood 

the renowned temple of Jupiter Ammon. On his way thither 

he was struck with the capacities of the place where Alexandria 

now stands. ■ At that time it was only a fishing village, but 

he gave orders to lay the foundation of a city. The site 

was well chosen, and the city was afterwards fostered by 

the Ptolemies, so that it became great, and is to-day his most 

substantial monument. 

(53) 



54 EGYPT 

From Alexandria he made his way into the desert, marching 
for five days with a select body of troops until he reached 
the temple. The priests, well advised, hailed him in the name 
of the god as son of Jupiter, and told him he was destined 
to conquer the world. It was the custom for the priests 
at this shrine to give a certificate of divine origin to Egyp- 
tian kings, and to the Egyptians it meant little more 
than that the priesthood was satisfied with the succession, but 
Alexander did not realise the hollowness of the declaration 
and it turned his head. Persuading himself that what they 
said in meaningless flattery was solemn truth, he grew vain- 
glorious and was delighted when any one pretended to pay 
him divine honours. His Macedonian comrades were under no 
misapprehension about his origin, and to them the whole thing 
seemed ridiculous, so that there was less sympathy between 
the conqueror and his staff after this incident. 

Alexander remodelled the government before he left 
Egypt. He appointed Cleomenes as his chief minister, making 
him responsible for the tribute, and left trusty garrisons and 
a sufficient force to keep the country in order. Cleomenes 
seems to have governed the Egyptians oppressively, and had 
Alexander lived to return to Egypt he would doubtless have 
called him to account. There is a story that Alexander wrote 
to Cleomenes after the death of Hephaestion and informed him 
that he knew of his crimes, but would pardon them if he 
carried out his instructions regarding the deification of his 
friend. The letter is probably a forgery, but it is clear 
enough that Cleomenes was tyrannical, though there seems 
evidence that his hand pressed more heavily upon foreigners 
than natives, and upon the rich rather than the poor. 
823. Alexander died without having revisited Egypt, and the 

satrapy fell to the share of Ptolemy, a favourite companion 
if not relative, of the young king. The corpse of the con- 
queror was carried with great pomp to Memphis, and thence 
to Alexandria where it was buried. The original plan seems 
to have been to bury Alexander in the Temple of Jupiter 



MACEDONIAN SUPEEMACY 55 

Ammon which he had visited in the oasis, but Perdiccas, the 
regent, seeing that the possession of the body would give 
Ptolemy an advantage, afterwards ordered that it should go 
to Macedonia. Ptolemy, however, met the procession when 
it reached Palestine, and diverted it to Egypt. 

Perdiccas does not seem to have been favourably disposed 
towards Ptolemy, for it is said that he named Cleomenes as 
his colleague in the government of Egypt, but Ptolemy settled 
the question of rivalry by putting Cleomenes to death. He 
knew, however, that he would not be left to govern Egypt in 
peace, for Perdiccas, who had been appointed regent, wanted 
to keep as much power as possible in his own hands, hoping 
ultimately to reunite the empire under his rule. Accordingly 
Ptolemy prepared for attack, and was ready when it came. 
Perdiccas attempted to cross the Nile in the face of the 
enemy, but was unsuccessful, and his soldiers mutinied and 
murdered him, after which most of them joined themselves to 
Ptolemy. 

Thus began the Ptolemaic dynasty which held the throne 
of Egypt for about three centuries, forming one of the 
brightest periods of Egyptian history. The later Ptolemies 
were not estimable, but the first three, Soter, Philadelphus and 
Euergetes, whose reigns lasted for a century, were amongst 
the best rulers Egypt ever had. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THEJEARLY PTOLEMIES. 

Though the generals of the Macedonian army had kept the 
real power in their own hands, they had nominated Philip 
Arridaeus, Alexander's half-brother, as his successor, appointing 
Perdiccas as regent to govern the empire on behalf of Philip, 
and guard the interests of Alexander's child, who was as yet 
unborn. 

We have seen how Perdiccas and Ptolemy at once fell out, 

321. and how the quarrel ended with the death of the former. A 
few years after, Philip was put to death, and there remained 
only the young prince in whose name the various generals 

311. now governed. At last he also was murdered and there was 
nothing to prevent Ptolemy and the rest from assuming the 
royal title. Ptolemy was, however, really king from the 
time when he first entered Egypt after the death of Alexander 
the Great. 

Ptolemy I. was a successful ruler. He had proved himself 
a capable fighter when in the service of Alexander, and he 
fought when necessary in defence of his kingdom, but he does 
not seem to have been enamoured of war, preferring the more 
solid virtues of peace. He was apparently a man of only 
moderate ability, but he had an abundance of common sense, 
and Egypt prospered under his rule. 

We know wonderfully little of Egypt's home affairs at 
this time, but the country must have been rich, and Ptolemy 
did all he could to further its interests. The seat of govern- 
ment was at Alexandria — a city which increased rapidly in 

importance, and was soon the centre of a large trade. Com- 

(56) 



THE EAKLY PTOLEMIES 57 

merce was encouraged in every way, and free intercourse with 
the outer world. Many Greeks settled in Egypt, and Jews 
also came in large numbers. Josephus professes that the 
latter came under compulsion, but it seems more likely that 
they were attracted by Ptolemy's liberality and kind treat- 
ment. They settled especially in Alexandria, forming a 
distinct community, and receiving rights of citizenship. 

Endeavouring to emulate the Athenian schools of learning, 
Ptolemy I. founded the University of Alexandria, and so well 
endowed its chairs that the most cultivated men in Europe 
gathered round, amongst whom we may name Euclid, the 
mathematician; Hipparchus, the astronomer; and Manetho, 
the historian. 

Unfortunately, while we can speak highly of Ptolemy's 
treatment of foreigners, the native Egyptians did not fare 
quite so well at his hands. True, their religion was respected 
and their customs were not interfered with, and in these 
respects Greek rule was more palatable than Persian. Ptolemy 
was careful to keep the priesthood on his side, so he left their 
endowments unimpaired and spent money freely on their 
temples. For the most part, however, the natives became 
hewers of wood and drawers of water. Their laws were re- 
spected, but they were administered by Greeks, and in every 
department of government the Greek was supreme. Greek 
was the official language, and unless a native received a Greek 
education he had little chance of preferment. As for the 
humbler Egyptian, the fellah, he had to find the revenue — 
the usual privilege of his class. Nevertheless he was as 
well off under the Ptolemies as he had been under the 
Pharaohs. 

In foreign affairs Ptolemy had at first varied fortune. He 
gained the adherence of Cyrene without much trouble, and 
added also the island of Cyprus to his empire. He next pro- 
ceeded to seize Syria and was at first successful, holding it 
for five years, after which Antigonus seized it. Later, Anti- 306. 
gonus and Demetrius his son defeated Ptolemy's fleet at 



58 EGYPT 

Cyprus ; and, encouraged by this success, planned an invasion 
of Egypt. They did not choose the best season, however, and 
suffered so much from storms that they had eventually to 

301. retreat to avert serious disaster. A few years later a coalition 
was formed against Antigonus, who was defeated and slain 
at the battle of Ipsus. Ptolemy had been a member of the 
coalition, and, though he had not helped in the battle, he seized 
upon Lower Syria and Phoenicia, claiming them as his portion, 
and it did not suit the others at that time to contest his claim. 
In the end, therefore, Ptolemy I. ruled over an empire which 
embraced Egypt, Cyrene, Cyprus, Palestine and Phoenicia. 
He had also great influence over the islands of the iEgean 
and the free cities of Asia Minor. A league was formed of 
which he was made president, and he received from the 
Rhodians the title of Soter (saviour) by which he is known, 
in recognition of his having saved them from subjection to 
Antigonus. Ptolemy's last years were prosperous and peace- 

285. ful ; and when an old man, he abdicated in favour of his son, 
at whose court he lived for two years and then died at the 
age of eighty-four. 

Ptolemy II., known as Philadelphus, though the name 
was probably given after his death, was the youngest son of 
his father, but was born of Berenice, his favourite wife, after 
he had assumed the title of king. The eldest son Ptolemy 
Keraunos was in Thrace at the time of his father's death, and 
was never in a position to contest the crown with his brother. 
Another elder brother, Magas, was regent of Cyrene, and 
Ptolemy II. permitted him to retain that province under 
an arrangement by which on his death it would revert to 
Egypt. 

Ptolemy II. proved an excellent ruler. He reopened the 
canal between the Nile and the Red Sea, founded several 
ports on the Red Sea and made roads from them to the Nile. 
By these means and by the establishment of caravan routes 
he did much to develop commerce, and trade was carried on 
freely with Europe, Arabia and the Soudan. Under him the 



THE EAELY PTOLEMIES 59 

Egyptian monarchy rose to great power, and he became very 
rich, so that he could maintain a large army and navy and 
keep his frontier well guarded. 

In literary tastes Ptolemy II. was not behind his father. 
Alexandria continued to be a centre for Hellenistic culture ; 
Manetho, the historian, was instructed to translate the ancient 
records of Egypt, and produced a work which, though not 
much thought of at the time, has been fully appreciated 
since. During this reign also the translation of the Hebrew 
Scriptures into Greek, known as the Septuagint, was under- 
taken. Like his father he treated the Jews with kindness, 
giving them allotments in various parts of Egypt. He de- 
veloped the province of the Fayum, erecting an embankment 
known as the " Arsinoe " in honour of his favourite wife, and 
he gave allotments both there and on the other crown lands to 
the soldiers. 

During this reign the Alexandrian lighthouse on the island 
of Pharos was built. It was of white marble and of great 
height, so that the light could be seen many miles from the 
harbour. The foreign policy of Ptolemy II. was as far as 
possible pacific, but he resisted an attack of Magas, his half- 
brother from Cyrene ; and he had wars with Syria. By far 
the most important act of his reign, in regard to foreign 
affairs, was the offer of alliance to Rome. The embassy 273. 
was sent by Ptolemy just after the Romans had defeated 
Pyrrhus, and it marked the recognition of Rome as a great 
power. The Roman Senate replied with dignity and 
cordiality, and thus a friendship was begun between Rome 
and Egypt which lasted during the Ptolemaic dynasty. 

On the death of Philadelphus, he was succeeded by 246. 
his eldest son Ptolemy III., surnamed by the people 
Euergetes. 

A serious quarrel broke out between Egypt and Syria at 
this time. The sister of the young king had been given in 
marriage to the king of Syria, but when her husband died 
both she and her infant son were assassinated. Ptolemy 



60 EGYPT 

determined to avenge her death, and, having been left by his 
father a fine army and abundant treasure, he made several 
successful campaigns. He first attacked the coasts of Asia 
Minor and seized the treasure cities of Cilicia. He next cap- 
tured Seleucia at the mouth of the Orontes, and marched on 
Antioch which yielded at once. He then crossed the Euphrates 
and traversed Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Susiana, Persia and 
Media, bringing back from Persia gods which had formerly been 
carried from Egypt by Persian kings, together with a vast 
amount of booty. His return was hastened by news of dis- 
content at home. There had been a failure of the inundation 
of the Nile, and the people, threatened by famine and angry 
at his long absence and apparent inattention to their needs, 
were rising against him. He returned, however, before the 
revolt spread, and the spoil which he brought with him may 
have done something to appease the people. 

After so much success in his first campaigns it might have 
been expected that Ptolemy III. would have continued to 
prosecute the art of war, but it was not so. He made no 
attempt to rule permanently over the vast area which he had 
conquered, but contented himself with holding Ccele-Syria 
and such places as enabled him to command the sea up to 
the Hellespont. He thus gained and kept during his reign the 
control of the Levant besides having immense influence amongst 
the commercial cities of the ^Egean and in Greece itself. But 
he found that it was a wiser policy to manage foreign affairs 
by diplomacy and subsidy than by wasting his substance and 
risking his all in war. 

Ptolemy III. was nowise behind his predecessors in the 
encouragement of learning. He seems to have been himself 
of scientific tastes, and the university in Alexandria was en- 
couraged by him, and was as famous as ever during his reign. 
He appointed Eratosthenes of Cyrene, a man of very extensive 
learning, as his librarian and tutor to his children. A poem is 
extant from Eratosthenes to the king giving the solution of a 
geometrical problem. 



THE EAELY PTOLEMIES 61 

A document called the decree of Canopus, of which copies 
have been preserved, contains some interesting matter, and 
amongst other things an account of the reform of the calendar 
by the introduction of leap-year. " In order that the seasons 
may correspond regularly to the establishment of the world, 
and that it may not occur that some of the national feasts 
kept in winter may come to be kept in summer, the sun 
changing one day in every four years, and that other feasts 
now kept in summer may come to be kept in winter in future 
times, as has formerly happened, and now would happen if the 
arrangement of the year remained of 360 days, and the five 
additional days added ; from now onward one day, a feast of 
the benefactor gods, shall be added every four years to the 
five additional days before the new year." 

During the reign of Ptolemy III. there was a terrible earth- 
quake at Rhodes which threw down the Colossus. Rhodes 
was a great banking centre, and there was much loss and 
commercial panic. It is interesting to know that various 
kings came forward to aid the Rhodian bankers and citizens 
to tide over the crisis. Amongst those who helped was 
Ptolemy whose donations were liberal. 

During his reign he planned and founded a great temple 
at Edfu, at which all his successors in the dynasty laboured, 
and which was at last only finished by Ptolemy Auletes 
nearly two centuries after. 

Ptolemy III. was on the whole a capable king, and seems 
to have been possessed of moral qualities which Oriental 
monarchs frequently lack. Egypt had now. been ruled for a 
century by his family, and had never known better govern- 
ment. The period has been not unfitly called her golden 
age. It is true that the government was on Greek lines, that 
the Greek language was used, and that most of the leading 
officials were Greek. But the Egyptians were oppressed 
less by their Greek sovereigns than they had been by the 
Pharaohs. They enjoyed peace at home, their commerce ex- 
tended throughout the known world, they were prosperous 



62 EGYPT 

and contented, and art and learning flourished. The university 
had schools of mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philo- 
sophy, and earnest students were attracted from all lands. 
So far the Ptolemaic dynasty had been a blessing to Egypt, 
but unfortunately the golden age was not destined to last. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE LATER PTOLEMIES. 

The Ptolemies who had for three generations sat upon the 222. 
throne of Egypt had been men of character and ability, 
but Ptolemy IV. (Philopator) a prince of inferior type fell 
under evil influence, and spent in debauchery the energy 
which should have been devoted to the interests of the empire. 

Antiochus the Great was now king of Syria, and scarcely 
had he ascended the throne when he tried to wrest from Egypt 
the provinces of Ccele-Syria and Palestine. It is probable 
that Ptolemy III. had in his last years neglected military 
affairs, for the young king was without an army and Antiochus 
captured Seleucia and Tyre and extended his power southward 
with little opposition. Ptolemy, however, bestirred himself 
and at last gathered an army in which were many mercenaries 
and natives drilled in Macedonian fashion and led by Greek 
generals. With this army he encountered Antiochus at 
Raphia near Gaza and was completely victorious, but he 
gave Antiochus easy terms, contenting himself with keeping 
Palestine and Phoenicia. He spent three months marching 
from city to city in these provinces, and it was on this occa- 
sion that he visited Jerusalem and insisted on entering the 
Holy of Holies. The battle of Raphia had taught Antiochus 
that Egypt could not be attacked with impunity, and he made 
no further effort against her Syrian provinces until the death 
of Ptolemy IV. 

During this reign Rome was engaged in fighting against 

Hannibal and it seemed likely that Philip of Macedon would 

make alliance with the African against his great enemy. As 

(63) 



64 EGYPT 

Philip and Antioehus were sovereigns whom Egypt had cause 
to fear, Ptolemy sympathised with Rome and the alliance 
210. which had so long existed was renewed. 

The foreign relations of Egypt were not materially altered 
during this reign, but there was discontent at home. It may 
be that the victory at Raphia had taught the natives their 
power, and that they had begun to wonder why so much 
favour should be lavished upon Greeks, or they may have 
merely risen against oppression. At all events there were 
two serious revolts — the former in Lower Egypt not quenched 
without years of bloodshed, the latter in Upper Egypt left by 
Philopator as a legacy to his son. 

The king had some of the love for letters which distin- 
guished his predecessors, but love of debauchery was his 
overmastering passion. At the beginning of his reign he 
connived at the murder of his mother, Berenice, and at his 
death the affairs of government were in the hands of brutal 
favourites who murdered his wife, Arsinoe, the mother of his 
infant son. 

The murder of Arsinoe greatly exasperated the Egyptians, 
She had been popular, and the household troops mutinied, 
and having obtained possession of the infant king tore the 
murderers of his mother in pieces. 

Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes), whose reign began under such 
unhappy circumstances, was placed under the guardianship 
of able and trustworthy ministers. Philip of Macedon and 
Antioehus of Syria, thinking a golden opportunity had come, 
lost no time in allying themselves, with the intention of 
dividing young Ptolemy's possessions between them. Of 
these Philip coveted the islands of the iEgean, whilst Antioehus 
set his mind upon Coele-Syria and Palestine. Had they 
attacked Egypt at once they might have been successful, but 
they delayed for three years, and these were eventful years, 
for during them was fought the battle of Zama which broke 
the power of Carthage irretrievably, and left Rome free to 
attend to affairs in the east. 



THE LATEE PTOLEMIES 65 

After Zama, Rome sent an embassy to thank the Egyptians 
for their neutrality during the Punic War, and the ambassa- 
dors learnt of the partition treaty between Syria and Mace- 
donia. Partly out of friendship for Egypt, partly because it 
did not suit their views that either Philip or Antiochus should 
become unduly powerful, the Romans kept a benevolent eye 
upon the affairs of their old ally, and saw that she did not 
come to much harm. 

Philip's ambition to become suzerain of the iEgean was 
checked by his defeat at the hands of the Rhodians, and finally 
extinguished at Cynoscephalse. Antiochus was held back for 197. 
a time by Scopas, the Egyptian general, but when Scopas was 
beaten and Antiochus had Egypt at his mercy the Romans 198. 
compelled him to make peace — the peace being cemented by 
the betrothal of his daughter Cleopatra to the young king 
with a promised dowry of half the revenues of Coele-Syria. 

Epiphanes was thus relieved from foreign dangers, but he 
lost his empire. The islands of the Mgeam and the Greek cities 
of Asia, granted autonomy by Rome, no longer sent tribute to 
Egypt; and though the king married Cleopatra in due time, 
and thus obtained an accession of revenue, the Romans did not 
allow either Coele-Syria or Palestine to pass again under the 
power of Egypt. 

At home also Egypt had many troubles. The revolt in 
Upper Egypt, which had begun in the reign of Philopator, 
lasted until the nineteenth year of the reign of his son. 
This caused the revenue to fall, so that the king was not as 
rich as his fathers. 

Towards the end of his reign he determined to win back 
Ccele- Syria and raised an army for that purpose, but having 
spoken unguardedly concerning some friends who had not 
been forward enough with their support, he was poisoned mi. 
when only twenty-nine years of age. 

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ptolemy Eupator, who 
had been associated with him on the throne, but nothing is 
known about him except his name. 



66 EGYPT 

Philometor, a younger brother of Eupator, now reigned 
as Ptolemy VII. , and about the same time Antiochus IV. 
(Epiphanes) succeeded to the throne of Syria. Cleopatra 
having died, a dispute arose between Syria and Egypt con- 
cerning the dowry of the Syrian revenues in which Antiochus 
declared that Cleopatra had only a life interest. War ensued 
and the Egyptians were defeated, Philometor being made a 
prisoner. Antiochus soon conquered all Egypt excepting 

167. Alexandria, and was besieging it when an envoy arrived from 
Rome and ordered him to cease. Antiochus dared not face a 
war with Rome and withdrew his army. Philometor thus 
reinstated showed himself a worthy king having many 
excellent qualities, and at last died in battle. 

A child was put on the throne as Ptolemy VIII., but the 
brother of Philometor, Euergetes, came from Cyrene where 

146. he had been governor, and took up the sceptre as Ptolemy IX. 
known as Physkon. Many evil things have been said about 
this king, but they have no very substantial foundation. He 
seems to have been kindly disposed towards the Jews, and to 
have favoured the native Egyptians, and perhaps partly on 
this account incurred the wrath of the Greeks. He left the 
empire in a nourishing condition when he died. 

It would be profitless to do more than mention Ptolemies 
X., XI. and XII. concerning whose brief reigns we know almost 
nothing. The power of Rome was now overshadowing the 
world, and an utterly selfish commercial spirit had taken hold 
of the Romans, who only considered how best they might 
increase their wealth. To this spirit of cupidity Carthage, 
Corinth and Rhodes had already fallen victims, and Egypt 
was a rich prize. It was believed that Ptolemy XII. had willed 
his kingdom to the Romans, and the Egyptians were in a 
state of chronic fear lest they should lay claim to it. When, 

76. therefore, Ptolemy XIII., best known as Auletes, succeeded, 
he tried hard to obtain from Rome a formal recognition of his 
sovereignty. The Romans held this back, in spite of enormous 
bribes, for nearly twenty years, so that it was not until the 




THE LATEE PTOLEMIES 67 

consulship of Julius Caesar that Auletes by one last bribe of 59. 
6,000 talents obtained the coveted recognition. The Egyptians, 
angry at seeing so much treasure going to Rome, rose against 
their king, and expelled him from Alexandria. Driven thus 58. 
into exile he went to Rome and besought the Senate to restore 
him, but owing to intrigues and disputes the matter was pro- 
tracted until, with another huge bribe and the consent of 
Pompey, he obtained the help of Gabinius, the pro-consul in 55. 
Syria, and after three battles was re-established on the throne. 
He died four years after this event, leaving two daughters, 
Cleopatra and Arsinoe, and two sons both named Ptolemy. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CLEOPATRA. 

51. Ptolemy Auletes at his death bequeathed his kingdom to 
his elder daughter, Cleopatra, at that time seventeen years of 
age, and his elder son, a boy of ten, whom she was eventually 
to marry. Ever afraid of the influence of Rome, he had sent 
a copy of his will there, and besought the Roman people not 
to interfere with its dispositions, but at that time the city 
had many troubles of her own, and could give little attention 
to the affairs of Egypt. 

Cleopatra showed such independence of spirit that after 
the joint reign had continued for four years the guardians of 
the boy king advised him to assume full control, and he drove 
the queen into exile. Cleopatra went to Syria and gathered 

48. an army with which she proceeded to invade Egypt. It was 
the year of Pharsalus, and Pompey, flying from Caesar, reached 
Pelusium at the time when the armies of the King and Queen 
of Egypt lay confronting one another there. As Pompey had 
been the means of restoring Auletes to the throne, he had 
some right to expect a favourable reception from his son, and 
he sent with some confidence to the young king asking per- 
mission to land. The advisers of the king were in a dilemma, 
for if they received Pompey they feared Ca3sar, and if they 
refused he might join Cleopatra. Accordingly they sent a 
small boat to take him to the shore, where stood the king 
apparently ready to greet him, but as he stepped from the 
boat he was stabbed in the back and fell dead. 

When Csesar arrived soon afterwards, Cleopatra threw 

herself upon his mercy, and her charms at once gained for her 

(68) 



CLEOPATRA 69 

his support. He ordered that the will of Auletes should be 
carried out, and that the brother and sister should reign jointly. 
Caesar was justified in this course, for Auletes had besought 
the Romans to see that the will was observed, but it was soon 
evident that Caesar was in love with Cleopatra, and the joint 
reign meant that she reigned alone. 

There was in Alexandria at this time a very dangerous 
and turbulent populace, consisting of refugees from other 
lands, pirates and the old Gabinian soldiers who had settled in 
Egypt. None of these had any sympathy with Caesar, and 
when they saw him assuming the government, imposing 
military law, and above all seizing the treasure, they were 
exasperated. In all there must have been 20,000 men under 
arms in Alexandria, whilst Caesar had with him only a small 
force of 2,000 men. 

Arsinoe, Cleopatra's younger sister, and the young king 
escaped from the palace and put themselves at the head of 
the people, and a fierce struggle ensued. Caesar sent to Asia 
for help and meanwhile tried conciliation, but it was in vain, 
and his life was in imminent peril. The palace was assaulted, 
efforts were made to cut off the water supply from his troops, 
and he had to burn his fleet to save it from falling into the 
hands of the enemy. In the conflagration a great number 
of papyrus rolls were destroyed, and this gave rise to the 
belief in after years that the Alexandrine Library had been 
burnt. At last the reinforcements arrived from Asia, the 
Egyptians were defeated and the young king was drowned. 

Cleopatra was now settled upon the throne with a yet 
younger brother as colleague and with Roman legions to 
protect her rights. After Caesar returned to Rome Cleopatra 
followed him, taking with her their infant son named Caesarion, 
and her brother, Ptolemy XV., who seems to have been 
poisoned during his stay at Rome. After the fall of Alex- 
andria, Arsinoe had been sent to Rome and led in Caesar's 46. 
triumph. Her life was spared, and she returned to Alex- 
andria, but was afterwards put to death by Antony. 



70 EGYPT 

Cleopatra returned to Egypt after the assassination of 
Csesar, and during the disturbances which ensued in the 
Roman world she preserved neutrality for a time. She had 
named her infant son as her colleague on the throne under 
the title of Ptolemy Caesar, obtaining, it is said, the consent 
of the Romans for the act. During these years famine and 
pestilence visited Egypt, and when Cassius demanded men 
and money from Cleopatra, she made the state of the country 
an excuse for refusal. 

42. At last the campaign of Philippi threw the power into the 

hands of Antony and Octavian — the former undertaking to 
govern the east, the latter the west. Antony went to Asia 
with his legions and commanded Cleopatra to meet him 
in Cilicia and explain the somewhat doubtful neutrality of 

41. Egypt. The beautiful queen instead of meeting him as a 
humble suppliant, appeared in the most regal splendour, and 
Antony lost both his heart and his head. He accompanied 
her to Egypt and remained there for a time, during which 
Cleopatra persuaded him to have her sister Arsinoe assassi- 
nated. After a while Antony had to tear himself away from 
Egypt and return to Rome, and there he married Octavia, the 
sister of his colleague. But when, a year or two after, he was 
sent against the Parthians, Cleopatra met him at Antioch and 
he lavished provinces upon her for gifts. When Antony had 
departed for the east, Cleopatra returned towards Egypt, and 
on her way southward met Herod the Great in Jerusalem. 
Herod was himself building up a kingdom by Roman favour, 
and he knew that Cleopatra was his most dangerous rival. 
He would gladly have slain her, but feared the wrath of 
Antony, so he had her led out of his dominions to her own 
frontier with politeness but celerity. 

Antony returned defeated from Parthia and was met again 
in Syria by Cleopatra who brought succour to him. He re- 
tired with her to Egypt and prepared for a second campaign. 

34. In this he was more successful, so he celebrated a Roman 
triumph at Alexandria, and bestowed great part of the eastern 



CLEOPATEA 71 

world upon Cleopatra and her sons. This gave rise to much 
dissatisfaction in Rome, and when he at length divorced his 32. 
wife Octavia, thus breaking the bond between himself and 
his colleague, war speedily ensued. Had Antony attacked 
Octavian at once he might have been successful, but he 
delayed ; and when at last he took decisive action he made 
the great mistake of allowing Cleopatra to accompany him to 
the seat of war. 

The rival fleets joined battle at Actium, and Cleopatra, 31. 
yielding perhaps to womanly -fear, fled. Antony followed 
her, and thus every chance of victory was thrown away. In 
the following year Octavian sailed to Egypt, and Cleopatra, 30. 
seeing that Antony's fortunes were now in desperate case, 
made an effort to negotiate with the conqueror. It was in 
vain, and she then caused a report of her death to be spread, 
and took refuge in a mausoleum which she had built. An- 
tony followed her to the mausoleum, stabbed himself and died 
in her arms. She made one further effort to soften the heart 
of Octavian, but when she found that it was in vain and that 
he intended to carry her to Rome to grace his triumph, rather 
than become sport to the people she died by her own hand. 

Thus passed away, in the thirty-ninth year of her age, 30. 
Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, and one of the most strik- 
ing figures in the ancient world. Whatever her faults may 
have been, she was a woman of extraordinary ability and 
fascinating power, and under more favourable circumstances 
she might have recovered for Egypt something of its former 
greatness. Octavian slew her sons Ceesarion and Antyllus ; 
the third son is unaccounted for. Her daughter is said to 
have married Juba, the king of Mauretania, who had accom- 
panied Octavian to Egypt. Egypt now became a Roman 
province, and was put under a prefect — the government being 
kept jealously under the personal control of the emperor, and 
closed to senators, lest a rival empire should be established. 



BABYLONIA. 



TABLE OF THE KINGS OF UNITED BABYLONIA. 





B.C. 




B.C. 


Khammurabi (Amraphel) 




Kuri-galzu I. 




overthrows Chedorlaomer 




Burna-buryas. . 


1400 


and Arioch and unites 




Kuri-galzu II. 




Babylonia 




Khara-khardas. 




Samsu-iluna. 




Nazi-bugas. 




Abesukh. 




Kuri-galzu III. 




Ammi-ditana. 




Nazi-Maruttas. 




Ammi-zadok. 




Kadasman-Turgu. 




Samsu-ditana. 




Kadasman-buryas. 




Anman 
Ki-annibi. 
Damki-ili-su. 
Iskipal. 

Sussi. 




Kudur-Bel. 

Saga-rakti-buryas. 

Bibeyasu. 

Bel-sum-iddin. 

Kadasman-Kharbe. 




Gul-kisar. 

Kirgal-daramas. 

A-dara-kalama. 

E-kur-ul-ana. 

Melamma-kurkura. 

Bel-ga-mil. 




Bimmon-sum-uzur . 
Conquered by Assyria 
about 1280 and more o] 
less subject to Assyria fo] 
some centuries, the his 
tory being fragmentary 

Nabopolassar 


1300 
626 


Gandis 




Nineveh destroyed 




606 


Agum-sipak. 




Nebuchadrezzar 




605 


Agu-yasi. 




Evil-Merodach . 




562 


Ussi. 




Nergal-sharezer . 




560 


Adu-metas. 




Labasi-Merodach 




556 


Tazzi-gurumas. 




Nabonidos . 




556 


Agum-kak-rimi. 




Babylon captured by Cyrus 
King of the Medes anc 


s 

I 


Kara-indas. 




Persians and end of Baby 




Kadasman-Bel 




Ionian Empire . 


538 



Based upon Sayce, Early Israel, 1899. 




, 



BABYLONIA. 

j CHAPTER I. 

THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The name Babylonia was given to that tract of land lying 
north-west of the Persian Gulf, bounded on the east by Elam, 
on the north by Assyria, and on the west by Arabia. The 
country is very flat — a long, level stretch of alluvial soil 
deposited by the Euphrates and Tigris. These rivers rise in 
Armenia, where their sources are not far apart, and for a time 
flow southward in parallel lines ; then the Euphrates turns to 
the west as if making for the Mediterranean, but as it seems 
to be approaching that sea it again turns, and, flowing in 
a south-easterly direction draws nearer to the Tigris, until at 
last the rivers join and in one stream enter the Persian Gulf. 
Both rivers are navigable for a great part of their route, and 
both bring down so much mud in suspension that the Persian 
Gulf is continually being encroached upon. The absence of 
irrigation and of judicious draining and dredging has made 
the country malarial and unhealthy, and much of it is little 
better than morass. But in earlier times, when the supply of 
water was regulated by canals and sluices, and the soil was 
carefully tilled, it brought forth profusely, and being covered 
with trees and plants had a better climate and was a healthier 
country to live in. In those days the population was con- 
siderable, and the fertile soil yielded to the cultivator an 
abundant harvest of cereals, dates, vegetables and fruits of 
many kinds. 

The civilisation was very ancient, Babylonia having no 

(77) 



78 BABYLONIA 

rival in antiquity excepting Egypt, and it has this special 
interest that it is the country from which much of our western 
civilisation sprang. Abraham, the progenitor of the Hebrew 
race, to which the world owes so much, also came from Baby- 
lonia. 

In historic times we find Babylonia inhabited by a mixed 
race, partly Accadian, principally Semitic. The Accadians 
were the original inhabitants, and the earliest cities were 
founded by them. Modern exploration has taught us some- 
thing about these, especially important discoveries made 
by the French at Telloh, in Southern Babylonia, where a 
city has been found called Lagas in early times, and be- 
longing to the dawn of Babylonian history. Its antiquity is 
proved by the character of the cuneiform writing found on 
its inscriptions, which is rude and simple, and evidently still 
in its infancy ; as well as by the nature of the language, which 
is not Semitic, but akin to that of the Elamites and Persians. 
In those early days Southern Babylonia was known as Sumer, 
Northern as Accad, and the language is sometimes called 
Sumerian, sometimes Accadian. The earlier inhabitants were 
absorbed by the stronger race, and the Semitic language pre- 
vailed, but the Accadian lingered long ; and, even when it had 
become a dead language, it was studied by educated Baby- 
lonians. 

The Babylonians were an agricultural people, and as their 
agriculture had to be aided by irrigation, there was an elabo- 
rate system of canals, some of which were large enough to be 
navigable. At the present time, under the blighting influence 
of Turkish rule, this prosperity has passed away, the great 
rivers have been allowed to silt up, or to bury themselves in 
the sand, and only mounds of brick earth remain to tell of 
the time when Babylonia was busy and well peopled. 

Like most agricultural races the Babylonians were of a 
peaceful disposition. If this is not quite our notion of them 
we must remember that, although they existed as a people for 
two or three thousand years, our ideas of their character are 



THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 79 

based mainly upon what they were in the time of Nebuchad- 
rezzar. During the reign of that monarch Babylon became 
a magnificent city and Babylonia a mighty empire, but he 
reigned for less than fifty years, and with him passed away 
the greatness of Babylonia. In this respect it differed from 
its offspring the Assyrian empire, which exercised an unrivalled 
sway in the world for many centuries. 

The Babylonians were idolaters, and superstitious to an 
unusual degree. Doubtless amongst the more cultivated there 
was an elevation of mind which dealt with the image rather 
as an emanation of the god than as the god himself, and 
Jehovah had even in Babylonia his true worshippers. 
Nevertheless the Babylonian religion was extremely poly- 
theistic and of a low order. The Accadians had believed in 
a great number of spirits, malevolent and benevolent, who 
were to be propitiated by charms worked by the priests. 
The Semitic Babylonians adopted many of their ideas, but 
their worship was more solar in character. The plains of 
Chaldea gave a superb opportunity for observing the stars ; 
and astronomy, astrology and religion went hand in hand. 

The principal deities may be divided into four sections. 
In the highest rank would be Anu, the lord of heaven ; Ea, 
lord of the deep ; and Bel, lord of the world . In the second 
rank come Sin, the Moon god ; Samas, the Sun god ; and 
Rimmon, god of the Air. In the third group are the planets, 
Nin or Saturn ; Merodach, or Jupiter ; Nergal, or Mars ; 
Nebo, or Mercury ; and Istar, or Venus, a goddess widely 
worshipped under many names ; and in the fourth rank a 
host of smaller deities, of greater or less consequence according 
to the locality. 

The Babylonians had sacred books, collections of volumes 
containing incantations, hymns, psalms, and a liturgy with 
prayers to various deities, and special services for appointed 
times. They observed fast days, and the Sabbath was a 
religious institution amongst them. They had many legends, 
and amongst these, some describing the creation, the deluge, 



80 BABYLONIA 

and the Tower of Babel. Although these legends are overladen 
with mythology yet their relationship to the narrative in 
Genesis is very interesting, both as regards points of agree- 
ment and points of difference. 

The Babylonians were a studious people, and education 
seems to have been general amongst them. They had many 
libraries, of which the most important were at Accad, Larsa, 
Nippur, Erech, Cuthah and Babylon. In some cases the books 
were written on papyrus, but generally they were on tablets 
of clay, made plastic, engraved with a stylus and then hardened 
in the sun. The Assyrians were more careful with their 
tablets, and baked them in the kiln, so that they were as a 
rule smaller and more enduring than those made in Babylonia. 
During the reign of Assur-bani-pal the libraries of Babylon 
were plundered for the benefit of Nineveh. Many of the 
tablets have been found, including treatises upon a variety of 
subjects, sometimes, as in the case of books of charms and 
fables, mere rubbish, sometimes of greater value, but all show- 
ing that the Babylonians had plenty of mental activity. 

They were patient observers, and knew a good deal about 
astronomy. When Callisthenes visited Babylon in the train 
of Alexander the Great, he found and sent home to Aristotle 
copies of astronomical observations or calculations, dating from 
B.C. 2000. Much of our present-day conception of the heavens 
came from Babylon. The Babylonians divided the starry 
universe into constellations, and originated the signs of the 
Zodiac. They had also the seven-day week, and the names 
of our days Saturnday, Sunday, Moonday, imitate the Baby- 
lonian method. 

Although we know that the Babylonians were amongst 
the most ancient of nations, yet our knowledge of their early 
history is extremely vague, and this statement not only applies 
to the early period but holds good up to the eighth century, 
and indeed almost to the time of Nebuchadrezzar. This is 
the more disappointing as we gather a very fair idea of the 
history of the Assyrians from records and monuments. 



THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 81 

The lack of these in Babylonia, is partly attributable to the 
scarcity of stone, and partly to so many of the tablets being 
of sun-dried clay. Some of the history is based upon frag- 
mentary copies of a work written by Berosus in Greek, in 
the third century B.C., some from Assyrian records, some from 
inscriptions, and some from the Bible, but when all is added 
together it makes, for so great a nation, only "the dust of 
history ". 



CHAPTER II. 

BEFORE THE UNION. 

The alluvial plain known as Babylonia was, in ancient times, 
dotted with cities such as Ur, Erech, Larsa, Karrak, Nippur, 
Babylon, Accad, Cuthah, Kis, Sepharvaim, Lagas and Dur, 
the sites of many of which have been identified. There was 
great scarcity of stone in Babylonia, and the buildings were 
of brick, much of which was poorly burnt and has perished. 
The use of brick had, however, this advantage that the bricks 
could receive the royal stamp, so that we can often tell which 
kings built at the various places, who founded, and who en- 
larged the temples and palaces. In Assyria the greatest 
buildings were the palaces, in Babylonia the temples, but 
little now remains of the latter excepting heaps of rubbish, 
from which pieces here and there have been unearthed. 

In early times the Babylonian cities were autonomous, 
and the importance of the city varied with the strength of its 
ruler, so that the centre of gravity was now in Lagas, now in 
Accad, and now in Ur, until at last it reached Babylon where 
it remained. In the writings of Berosus, who lived in the 
third century before the Christian era, an attempt was made 
to tabulate the kings who ruled in the cities from the earliest 
time, but the result is after all conjectural and no good pur- 
pose would be served here by giving lists of kings concerning 
whom individually nothing is known. It will be sufficient 
to mention only the more important of the petty kings until 
we come to Khammurabi, under whom Babylonia became 
united. After him we have a list of kings stretching on until the 
time when Assyria, first a colony of Babylonia, at last conquers 

(82) 



BEEOBE THE UNION 83 

the mother country. After this, for five centuries, Babylon 
has no history that can be recorded, until under Nabopolassar 
it again becomes free, and under Nebuchadrezzar becomes 
great. The early history of Babylonia is, however, the history 
of petty principalities, and it is necessary to glance briefly at 
these, bearing in mind that in the nature of the case it is only 
possible to approximate at chronological order in the narrative. 

Lagas. 

Recent excavations at Telloh show that this city, which 
was called Lagas at the first, was the seat of a kingdom in 
very early times. 

Ur-duggina is the first ruler of whom we have definite 
information. We know that he built a palace, temples and 
reservoirs, and dug a canal. 

Ur-Nina was a later king, who restored the temple at Lagas 
and set up statues cut out of stone, brought from the Sinaitic 
peninsula. He also erected palaces on which there is carving 
in bas-relief. 

E-Ana-gin reigned somewhat later, and left monuments 
showing rude but graphic battle-scenes. His inscriptions make 
him out to have conquered Elam, and the cities of Ur, Erech 
and Larsa, as well as countries whose names we do not 
recognise. 

Accad. 

The city of Accad in Upper Babylonia had two sovereigns 
who have left memorials showing them to have been kings 
of great importance. 

Sargon of Accad rose from humble origin to greatness. 
Like Tiglath-pileser III. he is said to have begun life as a 
gardener, but he became a powerful king. Having made him- 
self supreme in Northern Babylonia and conquered Elam, he 
turned his arms westward, made four expeditions into the 
" land of the Amorites " and reached the Mediterranean, on the 
shore cliffs of which he cut memorials of his visit. Sargon 



84 BABYLONIA 

built industriously, restoring Accad, and founding a city, Dur- 
Sargina. He also founded a library, for which a work on 
astronomy was compiled consisting of seventy-two tablets. 

Naram-Sin succeeded his father, and made expeditions as 
far as the Sinaitic peninsula, or " Magan " as it was then called. 
This was the region whence the ancient world got its 
copper and precious stones, and both Babylon and Egypt 
coveted its possession. The road from Egypt was easy, but 
Syria had to be traversed before it could be reached from 
Babylon, and the conquests of Sargon were therefore needed to 
make those of his son possible. As Sin, the Moon god, was 
the patron deity of Naram-Sin, the first Babylonian invader 
of this district, it is possible that the king may have named 
the mountain of Sinai out of compliment to his god 2,000 years 
before the Exodus. 

Ur. 

In Southern Babylonia the city of Ur, now known as 
Mugheir, and famous as the birthplace of Abram, had impor- 
tant kings at an early date. 

Ur-Bau, the earliest known ruler of Ur, left many 
memorials. In his time building was well understood, and he 
seems to have erecte,d or restored temples at Ur, Larsa, Erech> 
Nippur and Lagas. At Ur he built a temple which rose plat- 
form above platform in tiers. Brick of every sort was used by 
the Babylonians, sun dried, kiln dried, and enamelled, but stone 
had to be brought from a great distance and was used sparingly. 

Dungi who succeeded, completed some of the work his 
father had begun, finishing the tower at Ur, rebuilding the 
temple at Erech, adding to the temple at Lagas, and building 
another at Babylon. These facts are ascertained from the 
impressions on the bricks, and prove that the rule of Dungi 
must have been obeyed at those cities, that is, over the greater 
part of Babylonia. Dungi also fixed a standard of weight, 
which lasted until the time of Nebuchadrezzar. 

Whilst Dungi was ruling in Ur, the city of Lagas was 



BEFOEE THE UNION 85 

governed by a high priest, Gudea, who acknowledged him as 
suzerain. Many of the monuments recovered in the course of 
the excavations of which mention has been made belong to the 
reign of Gudea, who was an industrious builder and restorer of 
temples. One of the statues, now in the Louvre, represents 
the king seated with a plan of a palace upon his knee. The 
plan is drawn to scale, and Professor Flinders Petrie states 
that the unit of measurement corresponds with that used in 
building the Egyptian pyramids. Gudea went far for his 
material, bringing diorite from Sinai, and limestone and cedar 
from Lebanon and its neighbourhood. 

Karrak. 

Another Babylonian city which had kings of its own was 
Karrak. Two of the kings of this city have left remains, 
Libit-Istar and Ismi-Dagon, and a fragment of an inscrip- 
tion of Libit-Istar is in the British Museum. 

Larsa. 

Larsa, the " Ellasar " of Scripture, now called Senkereh, 
was a leading city of Southern Babylonia. Larsa was con- 
quered by Kudur-Mabug, an Elamite, who established his son 
Eri-Aku as king under his suzerainty. Eri-aku next fell 
under the suzerainty of Kudur-Lagamar, king of Elam, who 
may have been brother of Kudur-Mabug. Kudur-Lagamar 
was also suzerain over Khammurabi, king of Shinar or Upper 
Babylonia, and Tudghula, king of the border tribes. Whilst 
these kings, who are easily identified with Chedorlaomer, 
Arioch, Amraphel and Tidal, were thus politically connected, 
they made a raid upon Southern Palestine, then called the land 
of the Amorites. The value of this particular part of Palestine 
lay in its naphtha pits, the produce of which could be conveyed 
to Babylonia. The district had been raided before, and for 
twelve years the chiefs of the tribes in the district had 
acknowledged the suzerainty of Chedorlaomer and doubtless 
sent him an annual tribute in oil, but in the thirteenth year 



86 BABYLONIA 

they rebelled. Chedorlaomer and his vassals therefore 
invaded the country again, and were at first quite successful, 
slaying the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and driving their 
troops into the pits with which the plain was covered. But as 
they were returning, laden with spoil, they were overtaken by 
Abram and some Amorite chiefs ; and, a night attack being 
made, they fled in a panic, abandoning their captives and 
booty. It is likely that this reverse somewhat dimmed the 
lustre of the suzerain's reputation ; for not long after Kham- 
murabi (Amraphel) rebelled, overthrew Chedorlaomer and 
Arioch, added the territory of the latter to his own dominions, 
and united Upper and Lower Babylonia under his rule. 
Thus Babylon became and remained for 1,500 years the capital 
of the United Kingdom. It is possible, therefore, that the 
valour of Abram and his allies ended in the freedom of 
Babylonia, a result which would be the more striking seeing 
that it was Abram's fatherland. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE UNITED KINGDOM. 

Khammurabi (the Amraphel of the Old Testament), as the 
founder of the first Babylonian empire, has an importance 
amongst Babylonian kings second only to Nebuchadrezzar. 
Other kings had tried to bring Babylonia under their sway, 
but their rule had been loose and temporary, whereas Kham- 
murabi welded Babylonia so that it did not again fall asunder. 

Inscriptions show that Khammurabi and his successors not 
only claimed to be kings of Babylonia, but also lords of the 
western countries, and the connection was not merely nominal, 
for these fell under the influence of Babylonia to such an extent 
that Babylonian was the official language throughout Palestine. 

There are several notices of Khammurabi, who is referred to 
as lord over the whole of Babylonia, and boasts of canals dug 
and cornfields laid out for the people of Sumer and Accad. 
He was the " destroyer of adversaries, whirlwind of the battle, 
vanquisher of the people of the enemy, making strife to cease, 
conqueror of rebels, who shattered warriors like images of 
clay, and opened up difficult paths ". 

The dynasty in which Khammurabi figures was Arabian, 
and continued sometime after his reign, but little is known 
about the succeeding kings. His great grandson, Ammi- 
ditana calls himself " king of the land of the Amorites " and 
presumably still claimed to rule over Syria and Palestine. 

The Arabian dynasty was followed by a Sumerian, after 
which came one of foreign conquerors from Elam which lay 
east of Babylonia. This dynasty reigned for a long time, and 

we have records of some of the kings. 

(87) 



88 BABYLONIA 

1450. Kara-indas was contemporary with Assur-bel-nisi-su of 
Assyria. About that time there were disputes between 
Babylon and Assyria concerning the frontiers, and during the 
reign of Assur-uballid the dispute was settled by a treaty, and 
the treaty cemented by marriage between the royal families. 
A peculiar interest attaches to Burna-buryas because of the 
letters found in the excavations at Tel el-Amarna, written by 
1400. him to Amenhotep IV., king of Egypt. There is nothing 
very interesting in the letters themselves, the interest lies in 
the fact that they show that two centuries before the Exodus, 
correspondence was passing freely between Babylonia and 
Egypt. More interesting than the letters of the king are the 
little notes sent home by princesses who had doubtless been 
given in marriage to princes in the foreign court : — 

" To my mistress. . . . Khipa your handmaid. At the 
feet of my mistress I fall. Health to my mistress." 

"To . . . my mistress, your daughter, your handmaid. 
At the feet of my mistress seven times and seven times I 
fall." 

The Babylonians seem to have disliked the alliance with 
Assyria and after the death of Burna-buryas a revolt occurred 
in the course of which the heir to the crown was killed, and 
Nazi-bugas usurped the throne. The Assyrians made this an 
excuse for interfering, and their king, Assur-uballid, invaded 
Babylonia, killed Nazi-bugas and set up Kuri-galzu III., 
another son of Burna-buryas, in his stead. 

Kuri-galzu, though he owed his position to Assyria, was 
a patriotic Babylonian, and held his own against the Assyrians 
in war, but his successors were not so fortunate, and Assyria 
was for a long time in the ascendant. 

It would be profitless to follow the fragments of history 
which constitute the record of the next four centuries. During 
that period Babylon suffered from two enemies — the Elamites 
and the Assyrians. The Elamites, a warlike race whose kings 
had in earlier times ruled over Babylonia, made frequent 
incursions, and the Assyrians were also troublesome, waging 



THE UNITED KINGDOM 89 

many wars, in connection with one of which we read of the 
capture of Baghdad, the first mention of that city in history. 

During the reigns of David and Solomon, when the 960. 
Hebrew kingdom reached its zenith, Assyria was under a 
cloud, but in the ninth century it revived and Assur-nazir-pal 
made war on the Babylonians. 

Somewhat later there was a dispute in Babylonia concerning 853. 
the succession. Shalmaneser II. interfered, and, having settled 
the dispute, marched against the Chaldees — tribes living in the 
south-west of Babylonia round the mouth of the Euphrates. 

Concerning the Chaldees an eminent authority, Mr. George 
Smith, writes as follows : — 

' ' Of the origin of the Chaldees we know nothing. Some 
of the early Babylonian dynasties are called Chaldean by 
Berosus, and we sometimes use the word to designate these 
early sovereigns, but nothing is really known of the Chaldees 
at that period, and they are not mentioned in any known 
document before the twelfth century. 

" Their name cannot be identified with that of the Casdim 
of the Old Testament (translated ' Chaldeans ' or ' Chaldees ' 
in our version). The Kalda first obtained possession of 
Babylonia under Merodach-baladan, B.C. 722, and from that 
time forward formed so integral a part of the population 
of the country as to give their name to it." 

About 810, Bimmon-nirari III. was king of Assyria. 810. 
His wife's name was Semiramis, and around either her or 
some other queen of the same name much romance has 
gathered. Historians have been struck by the circumstance 
that the king couples her name with his own in an inscription. 
This was not usual, and as there are legends about a Semir- 
amis who was queen of Babylon it has been suggested that 
his wife may have been a Babylonian princess to whom he 
showed this respect in order to conciliate the Babylonians. 
On the other hand it is stated that " there is not the slightest 
proof of any political union between the two countries during 
this reign ". 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ASSYRIAN WOLF. 

747. With the eighth century a new departure can be made in 
Babylonian history, the annals being more complete and 
supplemented by a cuneiform document known as the 
Babylonian Chronicle. 

Whilst Nabonassar ruled in Babylon under Assyrian 
suzerainty (747-733) there was a revolution in Assyria and 

745. Pul seized the crown, reigning as Tiglath-pileser III. He 
was accepted in Assyria, but the Babylonians looked on him 
as a usurper, and he had much difficulty in compelling their 
allegiance. At last resistance ceased, and he was formally 
proclaimed king in Babylon. He was succeeded on the 

727. throne of Assyria by Shalmaneser IV., against whom there 
was a military revolution which ended in the accession of a 
popular general who took the ancient name of Sargon. This 
revolution inspired the patriotic party in Babylon, so that 
they again tried to shake off the yoke. In the wars of 
independence which followed they were led by Merodach- 
baladan, a Chaldean hero, whose ancestral territory lay at 
the mouth of the Euphrates. Under him the Chaldees united, 

722. and on the accession of Sargon he marched upon Babylon, 

overthrew the Assyrian government there, and proclaimed 

himself king. 

Sargon was busy in Syria, and had to leave Babylonia alone 

for eleven years, during which time Merodach-baladan ruled 

well and the country prospered. Knowing that Assyria 

would eventually .attack him, he 'endeavoured to find allies. 

712. Hezekiah was at this time king of Judah, and Merodach- 

(90) 



THE ASSYBIAN WOLF 91 

baladan sent an embassy under pretence of congratulating him 
on his recovery from a severe illness, but really to gain his 
alliance against Assyria. Sargon was, however, too quick for 
the confederates. He invaded Babylonia, captured the smaller 
cities and marched upon the capital, whereupon Merodach- 
baladan, finding the citizens unreliable, fled to his old province, 
and Babylon submitted to the Assyrian. Afterwards Sargon 
followed Merodach-baladan to his fastness, and in spite of a 
most heroic defence was completely victorious, capturing the 
king with his family and carrying them to Nineveh. A 
few years later, when Sargon was murdered and succeeded by 705. 
Sennacherib, Babylon again revolted. Merodach - baladan 
once more headed the rebellion, but he was speedily routed, 
and driven to the marshes, whilst Sennacherib placed a 
nominee on the throne of Babylon and left an Assyrian 
garrison to protect him. Merodach-baladan now gave up 
the struggle, and with his devoted adherents emigrated to 
Nagitu, where they founded a new settlement in the country 
of Elam, and there he died. 

Later, Sennacherib prepared a fleet with the aid of his 
Phoenician subjects, and having sailed down the river to 
the Persian Gulf where the colony was situated landed and 
mercilessly rooted out the settlement. 

After this he invaded Elam which had helped Babylonia, 
and ravaged the country, the smoke of the burning cities 
" obscuring the face of the heavens ". Sennacherib's brutality 
goaded the Chaldeans and Elamites into making another 
struggle for freedom, and an immense army gathered on the 
Tigris, but his forces defeated them with terrific slaughter 
in the battle of Khalule. 

Next year Sennacherib marched upon Babylon. Little 689. 
attempt was made at resistance, the city was captured, sacked, 
burnt, levelled with the ground, and flooded with the waters 
of the Araxes, an adjoining canal. 

The cruel measure meted by Sennacherib to others was 681. 
measured to himself again, for he was murdered by his elder 



92 BABYLONIA 

sons whilst in the act of worship. Esarhaddon succeeded him, 
a prince of a better type, who had evidently been out of sym- 
pathy with much that his father had done, and now set to work 
to undo it. In Babylonia he adopted conciliatory methods, 
rebuilding the capital with its walls, temples and fortifications, 
and fostering it so carefully that during his reign it recovered 
much of its former prosperity. The value of the policy of 
conciliation was seen in the fact, that there were no further 
rebellions in Babylonia during his reign. 

Assur-bani-pal, his eldest son, succeeded him in Assyria, 
and the crown of Babylonia fell to a younger son, Samas-sum 
yukin. 
668. During the reign of Assur-bani-pal a spirit of restlessness 

and disaffection spread over the Assyrian Empire. Egypt 
after revolting again and again at last made good its in- 
dependence under Psamatik I. ; Lydia, which had formerly 
paid homage to Assyria, actively assisting Psamatik in his 
struggles. A new power arose in Media, destined to become 
of great importance ; and, worst of all, Elam and Babylonia 
revolted, and fought with such pertinacity that the resources 
of Assyria were strained to the utmost. By a supreme effort 
Assur-bani-pal managed to keep all the empire except Egypt. 
Elam was invaded and ravaged, Shushan the capital being 
sacked and destroyed. In Babylonia the king's brother Samas- 
sum-yukin rebelled, but Babylon was reduced by famine, and 
the king, despairing of pardon, set fire to his palace and perished 
in the flames. A grandson of Merodach-baladan, Nabu-bel- 
zikri, the last of the family, had also helped in the revolt, and 
when he was unrelentingly pursued, he and his armour bearer 
slew one another. 

Babylon was now crushed, and though as rebellious as 
ever at heart it remained at peace for a time. But even 
during the reign of Assur-bani-pal Assyria had begun to 
decay, and the decadence made rapid progress under his 
successors, Assur-etil-ilani and Sin-sarra-iskun, better known 
as Saracos. During the reign of the latter the end came. 



THE ASSYEIAN WOLF 93 

Nabopolassar had been placed over Babylonia as viceroy, 
but on the death of Assur-bani-pal had assumed the royal 
title. Under his rule the country prospered, whilst Assyria, 626. 
overrun by the Scythians, and hemmed in by enemies on every 
side, became weaker continually. At length alliance was made 
against Nineveh between Nabopolassar and Cyaxares, king of 
the Medes. About the same time Pharaoh Necho invaded Syria 
and captured Carchemish, whilst Nabopolassar and Cyaxares 
ravaged the home provinces and at last shut up the king in 
Nineveh. Saracos made a brave effort to save his kingdom, 
and the siege lasted for two years ; but at length, the walls 
having been broken down by a flood, the besiegers entered, 
the king was slain and Nineveh destroyed, as it proved, for 606. 
ever. 



CHAPTER V. 

BABYLON THE GREAT. 

The Assyrian Empire having now come to an end, the spoils, 
were divided. Necho kept the south-west, Cyaxares received 
Assyria proper and such northern provinces as had acknow- 
ledged her jurisdiction, whilst Babylonia, Elam, and the 
Euphrates valley fell to Nabopolassar. 

606. The destruction of Nineveh marks the beginning of the 

great Babylonian Empire. It was not long lived, for in about 
seventy years it had to yield to a greater power, but if its life 
was short it was magnificent. 

It was hardly to be expected that this division of the 
empire could be permanent. For a time Media and Babylonia 
were likely to be friendly, because Nebuchadrezzar, the 
son of Nabopolassar had married Amytis the daughter of 
Cyaxares, but with Pharaoh Necho there was no such link, 
and in a short time Babylon and Egypt were at war. The 
Babylonians were led by Nebuchadrezzar, and a great 
battle was fought at Carchemish in which the Egyptians 

604. were completely routed, and the battle would have been 

followed by the invasion of Egypt but for the death of 

Nabopolassar, which made the presence of Nebuchadrezzar 

advisable in Babylon. 

The military prowess shown by Nebuchadrezzar removed 

any chance of difficulty about the succession, and he became 

king of Babylon, reigning forty-four years. He was a mighty 

monarch, and the creator of the Babylon of our imagination. 

True, the genius of his father had founded the dynasty and 

helped to break the overshadowing power of the Assyrian, but 

(94) 



BABYLON THE GEEAT 95 

when Nabopolassar died Babylon was still little better than 
a provincial town. Nebuchadrezzar made it the most wonder- 
ful city of the time, so wonderful that its name has ever since 
been synonymous with worldly pomp and pride. Our con- 
ception of the greatness of ancient cities is apt to be exaggerated, 
because early writers, comparing one thing with another, 
spoke of cities as great which would seem to us now to be 
of moderate dimensions. But Babylon was a great city, even 
viewed with modern eyes. It was twelve miles square, and 
in its walls were 250 towers, and sixty gates of bronze. The 
Euphrates ran through the middle of the city, spanned by a 
bridge of hewn stone, with fine embankments and a magnifi- 
cent royal palace on either side. At one end rose the temple of 
the god Bel, storey above storey, ascended by winding steps, 
gradually diminishing in width, until the uppermost storey 
was reached, where stood a golden image of the god. In 
another part of the city were the hanging gardens, built for 
the gratification of Queen Amytis, arched terraces covered 
with rich soil in which trees and flowers grew luxuriantly. 

Nebuchadrezzar did not neglect the other cities of Baby- 
lonia. He built many temples and public buildings in the 
provincial cities, constructed numerous canals, and near Sippara 
made a huge reservoir for irrigation. Nevertheless, his name 
is specially associated with Babylon, for the glory whereof 
the resources of the empire were ransacked, and concerning 
which he could at last say : " Is not this great Babylon that 
I have built, for the house of the kingdom, by the might of 
my power, and for the honour of my majesty ? " 

Our knowledge of the foreign affairs of the Babylonian 
Empire during this period is not extensive, and being obtained 
for the most part from Hebrew writers, refers more particu- 
larly to their connection with the empire. After the death of 
Josiah at Megiddo, Pharaoh Necho had made Jehoiakim king 
of Judah, and after the defeat of his suzerain at Carchemish, 
Jehoiakim paid tribute to Nebuchadrezzar and preserved 
peace for a time. At last he rebelled, and having been 



96 BABYLONIA 

defeated, was carried captive to Babylon — Jehoiachin, his son, 
reigning in his stead. The son proving as rebellious as the 
father, Nebuchadrezzar besieged and captured Jerusalem and 
took the leading men to Babylon, none remaining " save the 

598. poorest sort of the people of the land ". Amongst the captives 
taken at this time were Daniel and his companions. 

Nebuchadrezzar gave Jerusalem another chance under 
Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, but as he plotted with 
Pharaoh Hophra (Apries), Nebuchadrezzar had to besiege 
Jerusalem once again. The Egyptians made an effort to help 
Zedekiah, but were driven back, and Jerusalem was captured. 

588. The temple was burned, the city destroyed, and the inhabitants 
carried captive to Babylon. Zedekiah fled, but was made 
prisoner and condemned to gaze upon the slaughter of his 
children, after which, his eyes having been put out, he was 
led blinded and in chains to Babylon. 

There were now two Jewish kings in prison at Babylon, 
Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, and the miserable remnant of the 
people left in Palestine were placed under the control of 
Gedaliah, the ,seat of government being removed to Mizpah. 
Gedaliah was murdered shortly after by returned fugitive 
soldiers, and many of the Jews, both innocent and guilty, 
fearing the wrath of Nebuchadrezzar, fled to Egypt and 
settled there. Afterwards Palestine was again ravaged by the 
Babylonians, and such Jews as remained were removed. 

The marriage between Nebuchadrezzar and the daughter 
of Cyaxares insured peace between Babylon and Media for a 
time, and when war arose between Media and Lydia, Nebu- 
chadrezzar helped Cyaxares, but after a tedious conflict the 

585. superstitious alarm created by an eclipse of the sun afforded 
an opportunity for the conclusion of peace between the com- 
batants. 

During the reign of Nebuchadrezzar Tyre was besieged 

573. for thirteen years, and when it capitulated it was only on 
condition that its king should continue to reign though under 
Babylonian suzerainty. 



BABYLON THE GEEAT 97 

There is fragmentary evidence that, in the thirty-seventh 567. 
year of his reign, Nebuchadrezzar invaded Egypt, and de- 
feated and deposed Pharaoh Hophra. But there is no certainty 
on the subject. 

The wars of Nebuchadrezzar extended over thirty-three 
years, and when they were finished his empire stretched from 
Persia to Egypt, and from Cilicia to the Persian Gulf. But 
the empire was of an artificial character, depending, as the 
Assyrian had done, upon military prowess. It had, therefore, 
but a transient greatness, for when the master hand of 
Nebuchadrezzar was removed decay speedily set in. 

For the record of the last years of Nebuchadrezzar, we 
are chiefly indebted to Daniel. There was peace in Babylonia, 
but the king was mentally under a cloud, apparently suffering 
from a species of insanity known as lycanthropy, and kept 
in seclusion in the palace grounds whilst the queen and his 
son acted in his stead. After seven years of insanity his 
intellect returned to him, and with the return of his intellect 
came also a change of heart. 

"I Nebuchadrezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and 
mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most 
High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, 
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom 
is from generation to generation : and all the inhabitants of the 
earth are reputed as nothing : and He doeth according to His 
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the 
earth : and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What 
doest Thou ? 

" Now I Nebuchadrezzar praise, and extol, and honour the 
King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways 
judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." 

Apparently he was esteemed by his people and his recovery 
was hailed with gladness, but he died not long after, having 562. 
reigned forty-four years and being about eighty years old. 

It is not easy to sum up the character of this remarkable 
man. He was a great warrior, a great architect, a great 



98 BABYLONIA 

engineer, and a great ruler. Undoubtedly also he was a great 
despot. The slaughter of the children of Zedekiah and blinding 
of the king were terrible acts, and showed that Nebuchadrezzar 
had a good deal of the tiger in him at times, yet his wars were 
not specially cruel, and compared with what Assyrian wars 
had been, they were mildness itself. He had much oriental 
impulsiveness. When his ordinary soothsayers could not 
recall his dream he commanded all the wise men in Babylon 
to be destroyed ; when Daniel told him the dream and its in- 
terpretation he worshipped him, and commanded every one 
else to do the same. He set up a golden image and proclaimed 
that those who did not worship it were to be cast into the fire ; 
and when the Hebrew youths, refusing, were saved by a mir- 
acle, he turned in a moment and declared that those of his 
subjects who would not worship the god of these men should be 
cut in pieces and their houses made a dunghill. His respect 
for Daniel, and his kindness to him, in spite of very faithful 
speaking, showed that he had a good heart. Undoubtedly 
Nebuchadrezzar was a great man, and we may go farther, and 
believe that so far as his light went, he was also a good man. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE FALL OF BABYLON. 

Evil-Merodach succeeded to his father, but had only reigned 562. 
two years when his brother-in-law, Nergal-sharezer, conspired 
against him, and he was assassinated. The pretext was 
" lawlessness," but it is likely that the lawlessness was on 
the side of the king's enemies. What we know about Evil- 
Merodach is all to his advantage. One of his first acts was 
to release Jehoiachin from his long imprisonment, and to 
treat him with kindly consideration. It has been con- 
jectured that Evil-Merodach may have been influenced by the 
later events of his father's life, and may have been showing an 
indulgence towards the Hebrew religion which alarmed the 
orthodox worshippers of Bel. 

Nergal-sharezer succeeded, enjoying his ill-gotten honours 560. 
for four years, and his successor, Labasi-Merodach, the last 
survivor of the dynasty, reigned for nine months only. 

Nabonidos who next ascended the throne, and reigned for 556. 

seventeen years, was the last of the Babylonian kings. He 

seems to have been unpopular amongst his own people, giving 

offence to the provincial cities and to those interested in the 

provincial temples by an endeavour to concentrate political 

and religious life in Babylon. During his reign Babylonia 

steadily declined, and a new power arose in the east. After 

the inroad of the Scythians and the attacks of the Medes 

and Babylonians had destroyed the Assyrian empire, Babylonia 

had four separate nationalities lying on its frontier : the 

Manda, or barbarians, whose capital was at Ecbatana ; the 

Medes, whose territory lay farther north — between Ecbatana 

(99) 
L.ofC. 



100 BABYLONIA 

and the Caspian ; the Elamites dwelling in the mountains due 
east of Babylonia ; and the Persians dwelling east of Elam 
on the Persian Gulf. Of all these the Manda, who were 
remnants of the Scythian invaders, were the most formidable ; 
their king was Astyages, and Cyrus, the king of Elam, ac- 
knowledged his' suzerainty. 

At this time Nabonidos and Cyrus were apparently on 
friendly terms, Astyages being the power feared by both. The 
districts north of Babylonia were ruled over by the Manda, and 
they had destroyed the temple of Sin, the Moon god, at Harran. 
In an inscription found at Sippara, Nabonidos declares that the 
god Merodach appeared to him in a dream and instructed him 
to rebuild the temple ; and when he pleaded that he was not 
strong enough to overcome the Manda, he was informed that 
one would be raised up to destroy them. Nabonidos accord- 
ingly ventured to carry out the will of the god, and restored 
the temple. v Many legends have gathered round the name of 
Cyrus, but the fact seems to be that Nabonidos and Astyages 

549. were at war when Cyrus came up in alliance with the former 
and attacked Astyages, his suzerain. Astyages was defeated, 
and his army mutinied and handed their king over bound to 
Cyrus. Cyrus thus added to Elam, his own kingdom, all the 
provinces subject to Astyages, amongst which were those of 
the Medes. Shortly afterwards he obtained Persia, the more 
easily as he was a descendant of the Persian royal house, so 
that his victory over Astyages enabled him to unite in one 
kingdom the Manda, Medes, Persians and Elamites. 

Cyrus was now a powerful monarch and his rapid progress 
alarmed his neighbours, the most important of whom were the 
Babylonians and Lydians. Croesus was king of Lydia and he 
made alliance with Babylon, but Cyrus was too quick for him 
and attacked him before any help could come from Nabonidos. 
The first battle was doubtful, but Crcesus was negligent, and 

546. Cyrus, following him up, defeated him utterly, capturing Sardis, 
his capital, so that Cyrus' kingdom had now become a great 
empire, extending from the Caspian to the Mediterranean » 



THE FALL OF BABYLON 101 

He was now in a position to overwhelm Babylonia, and 
Nabonidos fortified himself and made ready for the attack 
which must speedily come. In this work he was aided by his 
son Belshazzar whom he associated with him in the kingdom, 
and by one called in the inscriptions "the king's mother". 
Cyrus first turned his attention to the warlike tribes on his 
northern frontier. Against these he made several campaigns 
continuing until all had submitted. 

He then marched against Babylonia from the north, but 
could not break through the fortifications, and had to retire. 
It happened, however, that Nabonidos had amongst his sub- 
jects many who were disaffected. He had alienated some of 
his own people by interfering with the provincial temples, but 
apart from these Babylonia was largely populated by exiles, 
brought there by former kings in accordance with the 
transplanting policy so popular with eastern conquerors. With 
these Cyrus doubtless intrigued, and to such effect that when 
the army again advanced under Gobryas, his general, marching 
this time from the south-east, it was quickly victorious. A 
battle was fought near Sippara, in which Nabonidos was de- 
feated, after which Sippara, the second city in the kingdom, 
surrendered, and shortly afterwards Babylon opened its gates 538. 
without a siege. The siege of Babylon which we have been 
accustomed to connect with the name of Cyrus must have 
taken place later, during the reign of Darius Hystaspis, who 
besieged the city twice. Nabonidos was captured and kept 
in chains in Babylon for four months, when he died or 
perhaps more probably was executed in prison. There is some 
doubt about what happened to Belshazzar. He is mentioned 
in one of the inscriptions as Nabonidos' eldest son, and had 
command of the forces in the camp at Sippara. It was 
formerly thought that he fell in the assault on Babylon, but 
Babylon was not assaulted at that time, and he probably 
either fell in the battle near Sippara or was assassinated. 
Having been associated by his father with him in the king- 
dom, he is correctly spoken of as king, and the accuracy of 



102 BABYLONIA 

the Old Testament in matters of detail is strikingly exempli- 
fied by the circumstance that Belshazzar, when conferring 
honour upon Daniel for having interpreted the writing upon 
the wall, ' ' made a proclamation concerning him, that he 
should be the third ruler in the kingdom," for now we know 
that Nabonidos was first and Belshazzar second, so that Daniel 
could only be third. 

538. The authority of Cyrus being now recognised in Babylon 

he took steps to make himself popular, first, by reversing the 
centralising policy of Nabonidos and restoring the provincial 
temples to their former importance, and second, by permitting 
the exiles to return to their native land. Amongst these were 
the Jews, to whom he showed no little kindness. This was 
formerly attributed to his supposed sympathy with their 
religious faith, for it was believed that Cyrus was a Persian 
monotheist, but we now know that though of Persian origin 
he was an Elamite and a worshipper of the gods of Baby- 
lonia. His favour towards the Jews was therefore dictated 
by policy, but it was kindly and the Jews never forgot it. 

529. Cambyses succeeded his father as king of the Medes and 

Persians, and though he was not as estimable a man as his 
father he was not guilty of the absurd acts of cruelty and 
irreligion which have been associated with his name. His 
reign is memorable for the conquest of Egypt, where he spent 
so much of his time that there was a rebellion at home and a 
Magian priest named Gomates seized the throne, pretending to 
be a son of Cyrus. On his way home to suppress this revolt 
Cambyses died, but the usurper was afterwards slain by 

521. Darius Hystaspis, who now ascended the throne. 

Darius was a Persian, and of royal descent; he had no 
hereditary right to the throne, and the risings against him 
were so numerous that the empire seemed to be breaking up ; 
but he showed extraordinary ability and conquered all enemies. 
Amongst the rest the Babylonians rebelled twice, and twice 
were conquered, the fortifications of Babylon being destroyed 

514. on the occasion of the second rebellion. 



THE FALL OF BABYLON 103 

During the reign of Xerxes, whilst the king was absent in 
Greece, Babylon again rebelled, and when Xerxes returned 
and crushed the revolt, he still further injured the city, destroy- 
ing the temple of Bel, its chief architectural ornament. Babylon 
continued, however, to be a city of importance, and when 
Alexander of Macedon conquered the Persian Empire, he con- 
templated making it his capital and restoring its former glory. 
Whilst living at Babylon and exploring the river with a view 
to carrying out irrigation work, he caught malarial fever and 
died, and at his death the empire was dismembered. Eventu- 323. 
ally the satrapy of Babylon fell into the hands of Seleucus 
who built a new city on the Tigris, named Seleucia, to which 
he removed much of the material of Babylon and such popu- 
lation as remained. After this the city fell rapidly to pieces, 
until only mounds of rubbish remained to mark the site once 
occupied by " this great Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees"' excellency ". 



ASSYRIA. 



TABLE OF THE KINGS. 





B.C. 




B.C. 


Bel-kapkapi 




Samsi-Rimmon I. 


1070 


Assur-sum-esir 




Assur-nazir-pal II. 


1050 


Bir-tiglath-Assur 




Assur-irbi 




Irba-Rimmon 




Tiglath-pileser II. 


950 


Assur-nadin-akhi I. 




Assur-dan II. . 


930 


Assur-bel-nisi-su 


1450 


Rimmon-nirari II. 


911 


Buzur-Assur 


1440 


Tiglath-Bir II. . 


889 


Assur-nadin-akhi II. 


1420 


Assur-nazir-pal III. . 


883 


Assur-uballid 


1400 


Shalmaneser II. 


858 


Bel-nirari . 




1380 


Assur-dain-pal . 


825 


Pudil 




1360 


Samsi-Rimmon II. 


823 


Rimmon-nirari I. 




1340 


Rimmon-nirari III. 


810 


Shalmaneser I. 




1320 


Shalmaneser III. 


781 


Tiglath-Bir I. . 




1300 


Assur-dan III. 


771 


Azzur-nazir-pal I. 




1280 


Assur-nirari 


753 


Tiglath-Assur-Bel 




1275 


Tiglath-pileser III. (Pul) . 


745 


Assur-narara 




1260 


Shalmaneser IV. (Ulula) . 


727 


Nebodan . 




1250 


Sargon .... 


722 


Bel-kudur-azur . 




1225 


Sennacherib 


705 


Bir-pileser 




1215 


Esarhaddon 


681 


Assur-dan I. 




1185 


Assur-bani-pal . 


668 


Mutaggil-Nebo . 




1160 


Assur-etil-ilani 


625 


Assur-ris-ilim 




1140 


Sin-sarra-iskun (Saracos) 


619 


Tiglath-pileser I. 




1120 


Fall of Nineveh 


606 


Assur-bel-kala . 




1090 







Based upon Sayce, Early Israel, 1899. 



/r 



> 



4. 



vpadana 



Veraepdis 



ASSYRIA. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Assyria was the district which lay immediately north of 
Babylonia. The Babylonian monarchy had been many cen- 
turies in existence, and as its territory extended the centre 
of gravity moved northward, from Ur to Erech, from Erech 
to Babylon. The northern territory was more pleasant to live 
in than Babylonia. The country was varied, for though, like 
Babylonia, Assyria had much desert on its western frontier, 
there were fine mountain ranges towards the east, and the heat 
of summer was tempered by the mountain breeze. There was 
also abundance of water, not only from the great rivers, the 
Euphrates and the Tigris, but from serviceable tributaries 
such as the Eastern and Western Khabour and the Upper 
and Lower Zab. The best lands lay on the Tigris, especially 
on its eastern side. Here were plains, of limited size but 
of great fertility, upon which towns and villages sprang 
up until the country was well [peopled. The first city of 
importance was Assur (Waterbank), the primitive capital, 
from which came the name of the country, and that also of 
its patron deity. Assur, however, did not remain the capital. 
As in the case of Babylonia so in Assyria, the centre of gravity 
moved northward, and at last settled t in Nineveh. Between 
Assur and Nineveh lay Calah, -and east of Nineveh on the 
Lower Zab lay Arbela where, many years after Nineveh had 

been destroyed and the Assyrian Empire had ceased to exist, 

(109) 



110 ASSYRIA 

the battle was fought between Darius and Alexander which 
settled the fate of the Persian Empire. 

There was much similarity at first between the Assyrians 
and the Babylonians, but as time went on differences developed. 
The Babylonians were a mixed race formed by a union between 
the Semitic and the earlier Accadian folk. The Assyrians 
were more purely Semitic, of the same stock as the Hebrews 
and Arabs. The Babylonians were peaceful in disposition, 
given to agriculture, fond of literature, well educated and 
comparatively humane in the conduct of their wars. The 
Assyrians cared little for agriculture, their wars were under- 
taken for the sake of plunder, and were conducted with 
ferocity. "The lion did tear in pieces enough for his 
whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves 
with prey, and his dens with ravin." The Assyrians had 
less humanity than their contemporaries. The conquering 
races of the East were never very tender in their methods, 
but in their inscriptions the Assyrian kings gloat over their 
cruelty. They were better at fighting than at governing and 
though their kings terrorised over a wide area, extending at 
one time from Armenia to Egypt and from Media to the 
Mediterranean, their hold upon the subject populations was 
unsystematic and slight. During the seventh century Lydia, 
Cyprus, Egypt, Elam, Babylonia and portions of Media and 
Arabia were under Assyrian suzerainty and paying tribute 
with more or less regularity; but their empire was founded 
purely upon military prowess and when the tide turned 
empire, capital, and nation were swept away. 

The Assyrians brought their religion from Babylonia, but 
as idolatry generally carries with it the conception of local 
deities, there were differences in detail. Their chief deity was 
Assur, the patron and impersonation of the State, and amongst 
other gods were Bel Merodach ; Nebo, whose worship ex- 
tended to Canaan ; Rimmon, also worshipped in Damascus ; 
Sin, the Moon god, with temples at Ur and Harran ; Samas, 
the Sun god, and Istar, the evening star, widely worshipped 



THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 111 

by many nations under many names. The names of the kings 
of ancient times look so outlandish because the monarchs 
adopted throne names in order to compliment particular deities. 
For instance, Bel-nirari means "Bel is my helper"; Assur- 
nirari, " Assur is my help " ; Pudil, " redeemed of God " ; 
Shalmaneser, "the god of peace is chief"; Sargon, "the 
constituted king"; Sennacherib, "the Moon god has multi- 
plied the brethren," and so on. 

Their methods of worship somewhat resembled those of the 
Hebrews ; they had sacrifices and meat offerings, and there is 
no trace of human sacrifice among them. They had religious 
hymns ; sacred books, consisting chiefly of incantations ; and 
even a liturgy of prayers to the various gods. They had also 
penitential psalms, from one of which a few lines may be 
quoted : — 

my God, thou givest not rest to thy servant. 
In the waters of the raging flood take his hand. 
The sin he has sinned turn into good. 

Let the wind carry away the transgression I have committed. 
Destroy my manifold wickedness like a garment. 

O my God, seven times seven are my transgressions, my transgressions are 
ever, before me. 

The Sabbath was observed by both Assyrians and Baby- 
lonians as a day of rest, " on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty- 
first and twenty-eighth days of the lunar month". The 
Assyrians had traditions of the creation, the deluge, and the 
dispersion at the building of the Tower of Babel. In their 
main features these traditions, which were of Babylonian 
origin, agree with the Scriptural narrative, but lack its 
majestic simplicity. 

The Assyrians were not so fond of literature as the Baby- 
lonians, amongst whom education was widely diffused, and 
such literature as they had was mostly Babylonian in origin. 
The writing was in the well-known cuneiform or wedge- 
shaped characters on clay tablets ; and these were baked 
in the kiln, instead ' of being merely dried in the sun as in 



112 ASSYEIA 

Babylonia. On some of the tablets the writing is so fine that 
a magnifying glass is needed to read it, so that it must have 
been written with the aid of a lens, and, indeed, a magnifying 
lens was actually discovered at Nineveh on the site of the 
library. Several libraries were founded in Assyria, at Assur, 
Calah and Nineveh, the last being largely the work of Assur- 
bani-pal, who plundered Babylon for its sake. When the 
Assyrian empire was overthrown, Nineveh, with its palaces 
and library, was so thoroughly destroyed that its very site 
was doubtful when Alexander the Great visited the place two 
centuries after, but modern explorers have recovered its books 
and monuments, and we can now study the originals as they 
came from the hands of the scribes. 

In Babylonia the best buildings were the temples — in 
Assyria the palaces. These were built largely of brick, the 
walls sometimes lined with alabaster sculptured in bas-relief 
and picked out in colours. Some of the palaces were superb, 
the sculpture was good, and original in character, the interiors 
being elaborately decorated, whilst outside were exquisite 
pillars, and strange images of bulls, lions and sacred figures. 

Amongst the tablets which have been discovered are many 
dealing with astronomy, and though there is much astrology 
mixed with it, it is evident that the Babylonians and As- 
syrians were advanced in astronomical science and mathe- 
matics. Others are contract tablets, military despatches, and 
treatises upon agriculture, history or poetry ; whilst the most 
important of all are the official lists, by means of which it has 
been found possible to fix both Assyrian and Old Testament 
chronology with some certainty from B.C. 911. 

There is little said in the inscriptions about commerce, but 
we know that the Assyrians traded widely. In Ezekiel we 
read how they traded with Tyre " in blue cloths, and broidered 
work, and chests of rich apparel," and Assyrian merchants 
trafficked with India, Egypt, and probably, through the Phoe- 
nicians, even as far as Spain. Weaving and dyeing reached 
a high state of perfection in Assyria, as well as metal work 



THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE 113 

and engraving on precious stones. Unlike many Orientals 
the Assyrians used chairs and tables, and their furniture was 
often extremely elegant. They were fond of good living, and 
had flowers, music and wine at their banquets. Polygamy 
and slavery prevailed, there was property in land, and leases 
have been found with cropping clauses. 

There was nothing novel about the Assyrian form of 
government. The king was absolute in theory, his absolutism 
being, as in all autocratic countries, tempered by fear of revolu- 
tion, or assassination. Among his councillors the commander- 
in-chief was called " Tartan," the Prime Minister " Rabshakeh ". 
At first Assyria was a dependency of Babylon, governed by 
viceroys, but as population increased it threw off the Baby- 
lonian yoke, and at last reversed matters, making Babylon the 
subject state. 

During the early period known as the First Empire the 
kings were very warlike, and themselves led their armies — 
raiding and plundering far and wide ; but they took little pains 
to weld the conquered nations into a homogeneous kingdom. 
During the Second Empire the wars were carried on rather 
for the development of trade, and the later kings lived 
luxuriously, whilst their generals did the fighting. The 
Assyrian armies moved rapidly, were highly disciplined, and 
skilled in the use of the bow. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE EMPIRE RISES. 

Assyrian history during the early period is vague ; but, as 
Assyria was an offshoot of Babylonia, we are spared the 
mythological dynasties in which other nations delighted. At 
first the country was governed by viceroys subject to Baby- 
lonia — those chosen being the high priests of Assur, at that 
time the capital city of the new province. We know from 
the inscriptions that somewhere about the nineteenth century 
the country was governed by Isme-Dagon, who was succeeded 
by his son Samsi-Rimmon, who built a temple at Assur. The 
history of Assyria as an independent kingdom may be taken 
to begin when Bel-kapkapi assumed the title of king. A 

1600. later king, Assur-sum-esir, had quarrels with Babylonia about 
the frontier, which in the reigns of his successors ripened 

1400. into war. In the reign of Assur-uballid the dispute was 
settled for a time by a treaty confirmed by marriage between 
the royal families. At Tel el-Amarna in Egypt many 
tablets have been found, and amongst these there is a letter 
from Assur-uballid to Amenhotep IV., the Pharaoh of that 
day. It is to the following effect. 

" To Amenhotep, king of Egypt, my brother, thus : I, 
Assur-uballid, king of Assur, the great king, am thy brother. 
To thee, to thy house, and to thy country, may there be 
peace ! When I saw thy ambassadors I rejoiced greatly ; I 
sent orders that thy ambassadors should come into my pre- 
sence. A chariot, the choicest in my kingdom, with its 
harness and two white horses, I have made ready, and have 

sent thee also a chariot without harness and a seal of white 

(114) 



THE EMPIEE EISES 115 

marble as a present for thee. When Assur-nadin-akhi my 
father sent an embassy to Egypt, he received twenty talents 
of gold. When the king of Hani-rabbat sent an embassy to 
thy father he received twenty talents of gold. Tell me what 
thou desirest that thy ambassadors may take." 

This was written during the period of Egypt's great- 
ness. In the fifteenth century Thothmes III. had made his 
power felt far and wide, and Assyria and Babylon had been 
overawed ; but, during Amenhotep's reign there was much 
religious dissension and foreign conquest was not attempted. 
During this period, therefore, the Assyrian kings, Assur-uballid 
and his successors, Bel-nirari, Pudil and Bimmon-nirari I. 
became powerful, and absorbed the adjacent states. An 
inscription of the last king describes wars against the Baby- 
lonians, Kurds and Aramaeans. With increase of empire, 
the population and wealth of Assyria also increased, Nineveh 
was enlarged and beautified, and may have been sometimes 
used as a royal residence, though Assur was still the capital. 

Shalmaneser I. who succeeded his father Rimmon-nirari I., 1320. 
greatly improved the cities of Calah and Nineveh, and built 
a palace at the latter place, so that Assur became of less 
importance. 

Tiglath-Bir I. reigned next. His chief residence was at 1300. 
Nineveh, but he invaded Babylonia, brought it temporarily 
under Assyrian sway, and seems to have resided for some 
time in Babylon. 

Tiglath-pileser I. the founder of the first Assyrian empire 1120. 
left an important memorial, in the shape of a cylinder inscrip- 
tion, now in the British Museum, which gives an account of 
the first five years of his reign. 

The inscription begins by glorifying the gods of Assyria ; 
Assur, the supreme ; Bel, the lord of the world ; Sin, the wise ; 
Samas, the judge of heaven and earth ; Istar, the first born, 
and so on. 

Next comes a glorification of himself, Tiglath-pileser, king 
of kings, lord of lords, the ever- victorious hero. 



116 ASSYEIA 

Then follows an account of his campaigns, against Meshech, 
against the Hittites, into the mountains of Zagros, against the 
people of Nairi, who were chased to the Lake of Van, and the 
Syrians, who were smitten at a blow. 

" I carried away their possessions, I burned their cities 
with fire, I demanded from their hostages tribute and con- 
tributions, I laid on them the heavy yoke of my rule." 

After this the inscription goes on to speak of his prowess 
as a hunter, and of his more peaceful achievements as a builder 
and restorer of palaces and temples. 

Then follows an invocation to the gods, and a curse against 
any who shall erase his writings or break his tablets. 

" May the gods consign his name to perdition ! May they 
curse him with an irrevocable curse ! May they cause his 
sovereignty to perish ! May they pluck out the stability of 
the throne of his empire ! Let not his offspring survive him 
in the kingdom ! Let his servants be broken ! Let his troops 
be defeated ! May he fly vanquished before his enemies ! 
May Rimmon in his fury tear up the produce of his land ! 
May a scarcity of food afflict his country ! For one day may 
he not be called happy ! May his name and race perish ! " 

Tiglath-Pileser I. crossed the Euphrates several times and 
even reached the Mediterranean upon the waters of which he 
embarked. He was a daring hunter, and kept at Assur a park 
of animals suitable for the chase. At Nineveh he had a 
botanical garden, in which he planted specimens of foreign 
trees gathered during his campaigns. 

We owe our detailed knowledge of Tiglath-pileser's reign 
chiefly to his cylinder, and for two centuries after his reign 
Assyrian history sinks into obscurity. It is interesting to 
notice that the period of obscurity corresponds with the rise 
of the Hebrew monarchy. Tiglath-pileser I. was a contem- 
porary of Eli, and the Hebrew monarchy was founded during 
the reign of his immediate successors. Under Saul the kingdom 
did not expand, but under David and Solomon it reached a 
" climax of splendour and power," stretching itself as far as 



THE EMPIRE RISES 117 

the Euphrates, and absorbing tribes formerly attached to the 
Assyrian Empire. On the death of Solomon, the Hebrew 
monarchy was divided, and Syria became once more an 
assortment of petty principalities. 

At last, however, Assyria came from under the cloud, and 
her kings, helped by the weakness of their neighbours, re- 
asserted themselves. 

With the reign of Rimmon-nirari II. accurate chronology 911. 
begins. As far back as his reign it was the custom for the 
chief officers to keep a dated record of important events. The 
lists were kept with great care, and copies have been found 
from which we have a reliable record from 911 to the time 
when Nineveh was destroyed. This record is known as the 
Assyrian Canon, and is the more interesting as it fixes dates 
in Jewish history as well. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE EMPIEE SPREADS. 

883. Assur-nazir-pal III., grandson of Rimmon-nirari II.. was a 
warlike monarch, and subdued the tribes on every side. He 
had fewer difficulties to face than his predecessors, for the 
Hittites were broken up and neither Judah nor Israel had 
now any hold upon Syria. Assur-nazir-pal, accordingly, 
made many expeditions, crossing the Orontes, passing Lebanon, 
and arriving at the Mediterranean, thus emulating the feat 
performed by Tiglath-Pileser I. two centuries before. The 
record of his campaigns^ is not pleasant reading, for he boasts 
of pyramids of heads, flaying captives alive, burning children 
and the like. Wherever he went he ravaged and destroyed, 
and brought back with him many prisoners and much spoil. 
Nevertheless, he gave the empire a fresh start and it advanced, 
growing in strength for two centuries, until in the reign of 
Assur-bani-pal it reached its climax, and then suddenly, and 
in the hour of its splendour, fell to rise no more. 

§58 # Shalmaneser II. succeeded and reigned for thirty-five 

years. Two inscriptions of his time have been found — one 
having his figure sculptured upon it, the other an obelisk of 
black stone inscribed on its four sides. A third monument 
consists of the bronze framework of two huge temple doors 
with embossed reliefs and explanatory inscriptions. Shalma- 
neser's reign consisted of a monotonous series of campaigns, 
north, south, east and west. He personally conducted twenty- 
three of these, and when he retired to spend the evening of 
his life at Calah, he did not cease to send his armies forth. 

His reign has this special interest that in it Assyria and Israel 

(118) 



THE EMPIEE SPEEADS 119 

came into contact for the first time. Shalmaneser in con- 
secutive expeditions reached the Euphrates, and at length 
made good his footing on the western side, so that the way 
lay open for invading Syria and Palestine. He first attacked 853. 
Hamath, and as this brought him perilously near Israel and 
Damascus, Ahab and Benhadad II., the kings of these coun- 
tries, made common cause with the king of Hamath, but the 
confederacy was defeated at Karkar, though the struggle was 
so severe that Shalmaneser did not attempt to follow up his 
victory. 

After several unsuccessful expeditions, when, twelve years 
later, Benhadad had been murdered, and Ahab slain at Ramoth 
Gilead, Shalmaneser again advanced, completely defeated the 841. 
army of Hazael, ravaged the surrounding country, and received 
tribute and humble submission from Jehu, who is styled " the 
son of Omri " in the inscription. 

After this victory Shalmaneser II. raided Phoenicia, Ar- 839. 
menia and Cappadocia, but at length growing too old to 
lead his armies in person he entrusted them to his generals. 

His last years were spent chiefly in Calah, a city greatly 
beautified by his father and himself. He did not forget Assur, 
which he restored and strengthened, and in Nineveh he im- 
proved the palace, and adorned the temple. Nevertheless the 
inhabitants of these cities grumbled at the preference shown 
to Calah, and his eldest son, Assur-dain-pal, tired of waiting 
for the sceptre, headed a revolution and reigned at Nineveh 
for seven years as a rival king. The rebellion was at length 
put down by his second son, who succeeded to the throne as 823. 
Samsi-Rimmon II., and after reigning for about twelve years 
was followed by his son Rimmon-nirari III. 

Rimmon-nirari III. was young when he ascended the 8io. 
throne and the beginning of his reign was pacific, but as he 
grew older he fell little behind his grandfather Shalmaneser 
II. in warlike propensity. He reigned for twenty-nine years, 
and the Assyrian Canon credits him with twenty-seven cam- 
paigns. Several of these were in the west where Damascus 



120 ASSYEIA 

opposed him. At length it submitted, after which no other 
state in that neighbourhood made a stand — the Hittites, 
Phoenicians, Edomites, Philistines and Israelites becoming 
tributary and sending gifts. Rimmon-nirari III. was married 
to a queen of the name of Semiramis, and, contrary to Assyrian 
custom, her name is mentioned in connection with his own in 
an inscription. 

781. Shalmaneser III. next reigned. His chief troubles were 

with Armenia, a state which was becoming powerful. It had 
enjoyed a succession of able kings, under whom cuneiform 
writing and various arts had been introduced, and the 
strength of the country had so increased that the Armenians 
did not hesitate to make incursions into Assyrian territory. 

771. Assur-dan III. succeeded. Little is known about his reign, 

but the little that is known is interesting. It is recorded in 
the Assyrian Canon that in the year which corresponds to 763 
" the city of Assur revolted, and the sun was eclipsed ". As- 
tronomers have calculated and found that on 15th June, 763, 
an eclipse of the sun was visible in Assyria, so that we have 
in this incident a remarkable proof of the accuracy of the 
canon. 

753. Assur-nirari now ascended the throne, and was the last of 

his line. The fortunes of Assyria had reached a low ebb, the 
revolt of Assur had lasted for three years, the other cities 
were discontented, the outlying provinces had fallen away, 
and the empire had ceased to be of importance. At length a 
revolt broke out which assumed formidable dimensions, the 
army joined it, Assur-nirari succumbed, and Pul seized the 
throne, assuming the title of Tiglath-pileser III. It is note- 
worthy that the date of the accession of Assur-nirari is also 
the date usually assigned to one of the greatest events in the 
world's history — the foundation of Rome. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PUL AND SHALMANESER IV. 

The identity of Pul was long a mystery. No such name 745. 
occurs in the Assyrian canon, yet in the Scripture we read 
that " there came against the land Pul the king of Assyria ; 
and Menahem gave Pul 1000 talents of silver, that his hand 
might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand ". 
We now know that Pul was the original name of Tiglath- 
pileser III., who is said to have begun life as a gardener, to 
have distinguished himself as a soldier, and been elevated to 
the throne by the army. Once seated there he proved a most 
capable monarch, rescuing the empire from the destruction 
which threatened it, and so re-establishing it that he is fitly 
spoken of as the founder of the Second Assyrian empire. 

In founding this second empire Tiglath-pileser's methods 
differed from those of his predecessors. They had been 
merely raiders and plunderers, but he organised the empire 
and divided it into provinces, each of which had to pay a 
fixed tribute to the exchequer. 

It would be tedious to narrate his campaigns in detail. 

The empire had been at a low ebb, and he was the man for 

the times. Year after year he ,sallied forth until none dared 

dispute his power. He reigned for 'eighteen years, and in 

that time so spread the boundaries of the empire that they 

extended from Armenia to Egypt, and from Persia to the 

Mediterranean. During his reign Assyria began on a large 

scale the system of transplanting people from, one country to 

another. It was a cruel and heartless way of trying to break 

down national spirit, and it probably failed of its purpose. 

(121) 



122 ASSYEIA 

The love of mankind for country is instinctive, and although 
the rude tearing asunder of ties may for a moment make 
united action less easy, seeds of bitterness are sown which 
bear a harvest of eternal hatred. 

During the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III., Ahaz sat upon 
the throne of Judah. Having suffered terribly by reason 
of attacks made upon him by Rezon of Damascus, and Pekah 
of Israel, Ahaz entreated protection from Tiglath-Pileser ; and 
the Assyrian king, nothing loth, marched westward and at- 
tacked Rezon, whom he overthrew and shut up in Damascus. 
732. Two years later the city fell, Rezon was slain, and the inhabi- 
tants were carried away captive. Meanwhile Israel also had 
been overrun, the country reduced to the condition of a 
desert and the trans-Jordan tribes carried into captivity. At 
the same time, the Philistines, Edomites and Arabians were 
subdued ; and after the fall of Damascus, Tiglath-pileser held 
a durbar which was attended by many princes, amongst whom 
was Ahaz. 

It was during the reign of this great monarch that Jonah 
delivered his message against Nineveh. It was long thought 
that Nineveh must have been a city of vast proportions, 
because the narrative speaks of 120,000 persons who could 
not discern between their right hand and their left. Com- 
mentators have taken this to mean children, and have 
therefore estimated the gross population at 1,000,000 but 
recent discoveries prove Nineveh to have been a city of 
moderate size, and the reference seems to be, not to children 
specially, but to the poorer inhabitants, who were not involved 
in the guilt of the king and his court. In Oriental cities two 
classes predominate — the wealthy, living in shameful luxury, 
and often in gross sin ; and the poor, living on the brink of 
starvation. To this latter class God's heart went out in pity,, 
and it was their case He said the prophet should not have 
forgotten. 

The ruins found on the Tigris, and identified with 
Nineveh, have an extreme circumference of eight miles, and 



PUL AND SHALMANBSEE IV. 123 

might have contained a population of 175,000 souls, but there 
were smaller cities in close proximity, and the gross popula- 
tion of the district must have been considerable. It may- 
seem surprising that a Hebrew prophet should have dared to 
appear in such a place with such a message, but in the East a 
holy man is treated with respect even by those who are not 
co-religionists. Idolaters are essentially tolerant, for they not 
only believe in their own gods but in other peoples' gods as 
well. Hence the Greeks, lest they should fail in reverence 
towards any particular deity, had an altar " to the unknown 
god," and hence, also, the mariners aroused Jonah and be- 
sought him to call upon his god, lest through him the evil 
had come. 

Jonah's appearance and solemn warning, therefore, created 
not anger but alarm, and a repentance both in Tiglath-pileser 
and his people, which was for the moment sincere. Nineveh 
got a respite, the doom which at last overtook it being 
postponed for a century. 

Tiglath-pileser's last campaigns were in Babylonia, which 731. 
had been nominally annexed but not entirely subdued. This 
he now remedied, Babylon and many other cities being cap- 
tured and the king slain. But Tiglath-pileser did not long 
survive his rival, and was succeeded by Ulula, who took the 
name of Shalmaneser IV. 

Shalmaneser IV. reigned but for five years, and not very 727. 
much is known of him. The inscriptions which have been 
found relating to this period are mostly commercial in 
character, and give us a glimpse of that side of Assyrian life. 
They show that Assyria was now a prosperous country with 
an extensive commerce. There is a record of one expedition 
to Babylonia undertaken by Shalmaneser, but his campaigns 
were chiefly directed against Palestine. The death of Tiglath- 
pileser III. encouraged the subject peoples, and Samaria and 
Tyre rebelled, but when Shalmaneser marched against them 
they submitted. Afterwards they revolted a second time, 
and he returned and invested Tyre. The other Phoenician 



124 ASSYRIA 

cities, partly through coercion, partly envious of Tyre, lent him 
their ships, and he attacked the city from the sea, but his fleet 
was destroyed by a Tyrian fleet only one fifth its size, and 
he had to settle down to a tedious blockade on the land side. 
Shalmaneser also besieged Samaria, over which Hoshea was 
king, but whilst these sieges were in progress a military re- 
volution took place, he died, or more probably was murdered, 
and Sargon succeeded him as king. 



CHAPTER V. 

SARGON. 

The usurper who now sat on the throne of Assyria, taking 722. 
the name of one of the early kings of Babylonia, and claiming 
descent from Bel-bani an ancient Assyrian conqueror, proved 
a most energetic sovereign, reigning for seventeen years and 
overcoming all enemies. He infused new vigour into the war 
which Shalmaneser had begun. Shortly after his accession 722. 
Samaria fell, the leading inhabitants were carried into cap- 
tivity, and the Israelitish section of the once great Hebrew 
Empire came to an end. The captives, nearly 30,000 in 
number, were widely scattered, some being placed as far as 
Media. He carried them " away into Assyria, and placed 
them in Halah, and in Habor the river of Gozan, and in the 
cities of the Medes " and their places were filled by men " from 
Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, 
and from Sepharvaim ". Sargon's inscriptions are not quite 
like j those of other Assyrian kings. Their monuments are 
generally mere details of bloodshed, but in one inscription he 
uses these words : — 

"In accordance with the name I bear" (literally "the 
true shepherd ") " and which the gods gave me that I might 
be the guardian of right and justice, govern the powerless, 
not harm the weak," etc. 

In another inscription he is called " the inquiring king, 

the bearer of gracious words, who applied his mind to restore 

settlements fallen into decay, and cultivate the neighbouring 

lands . . . not to let oil that gives life to man and heals sores 

(125) 



126 ASSYEIA 

become dear in my land, and regulate the price of sesame as 
well as of wheat ". 

These inscriptions lead us to hope that Sargon had rather 
more humanity about him than the rest. 

During the reign of Shalmaneser IV., short though it was, 
the empire had been a good deal shaken. In the south Elam 
was threatening, and Babylon had fallen away ; in the east 
the Kurds were rebellious ; in the west Carchemish, Hamath, 
Palestine and Philistia were encouraged by Egypt to revolt ; 
and in the north Armenia was as unsettled as ever. 

Sargon's first campaign was against the Elamites, whom 
he subdued. He then marched west, laid Hamath in ruins 
and, marching along the sea coast southward, met the combined 
Philistine and Egyptian forces at Raphia, defeated them and 
burned the city. Many captives, amongst whom was Hanun 
the king of Gaza, were carried to Assyria. 

717. A year or two afterwards he attacked Carchemish, a city 

which was now a great trading centre, and very rich. Its 
king, Pisiris, had revolted, depending apparently upon help 
from the Moschian tribes of the north, but the city was stormed, 
king, officers and treasure were captured, and the inhabitants 
deported to Assyria. Other colonists were brought to repeople 
the city, and it was placed under an Assyrian governor. The 
capture of Carchemish led to a revolt of the northern tribes 
who had been in alliance and had traded with it. The districts 
inhabited by these tribes were wild and inaccessible, and it 
was six years before they were subdued. In the end Sargon 
proved too strong for them, and after several of their leaders 
had been slain they yielded and an Assyrian governor was 

713. placed over the district. After this Sargon marched against 
the Medes, and forty-five chiefs submitted. 

711. Palestine and the west were again in a ferment. 

Hezekiah, king of Judah, partly influenced by Merodach- 
baladan of Babylonia, and partly by promises of help 
from Egypt, rebelled and was joined by the Phoenicians and 
Philistines. 



SAEGON 127 

Sargon acted quickly, and Egypt as usual failing to carry 
out her promises, the rebellion was soon crushed. The 
city of Ashdod was besieged and captured on this expedition. 
The siege is spoken of by Isaiah, and it is the only mention of 
the name of Sargon in the Bible. So strange did this seem 
to critics that they did not hesitate to doubt his existence 
altogether, thinking Sargon might have been another name 
for Shalmaneser or Sennacherib. Josephus did not mention 
him, the Bible stood alone, and he almost dropped out of 
history. The patient interpreters of the cuneiform inscrip- 
tions, however, found that the Bible was right, and that Sargon 
not only existed but was one of the most important of Assyrian 
kings. 

Sargon was now free to attend to Babylonia where 710. 
Merodach-baladan enjoyed a precarious independence. The 
Babylonian hero expected the attack and persuaded the 
Elamites to join him, sending the king of Elam much treasure 
in order to buy his aid. But neither with Elam nor without 
could he stand against the conqueror. He dared not even 
defend the capital, but fell back upon Beth-yagina, his an- 
cestral stronghold, and Sargon entered Babylon in triumph. 
Next year he followed Merodach-baladan to his refuge ; took 
it by storm and carried its defender captive to Nineveh, after 
which the Babylonians submitted and the whole country fell 
under his sway. 

Although Sargon's life had been so full of war, he left his 
mark as an architect upon Assyria. His greatest work was 
the building of Khorsabad, a city ten miles from Nineveh, 
large enough to accommodate 80,000 inhabitants. It was 
situated in a densely-planted park, and Sargon is careful to 
tell us that he paid for the land honestly, and where the 
owners did not wish to take money he gave them land for 
land. The city was compact in form, its walls a mile each 
way, with eight gates of sumptuous construction, fine temples, 
and a superb palace. Of the city only traces remain, 
but the palace is one of the best ruins in Assyria. It was 



128 ASSYEIA 

panelled in, alabaster, adorned with sculpture and inscribed 
with the exploits of the monarch. 

At last the common fate of Oriental sovereigns overtook 
Sargon : he was murdered in his city of Khorsabad, and 
Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead. 



CHAPTER VI 

SENNACHERIB. 

The younger son of Sargon who now ascended the throne is 705. 
in some respects the most interesting of Assyrian monarchs. 
Not indeed that his character was admirable, for he was a 
typical Oriental despot — proud, cruel, weak, and careless of the 
ruin which he spread. Nevertheless his reign has a special 
interest, because the Bible and the cuneiform inscriptions 
between them give us so many facts concerning it that he 
becomes one of the most life-like of Assyrian monarchs. 

His first campaign was against Babylonia. Merodach- 703. 
baladan had escaped, and having murdered Merodach-zakir- 
sumi, who had dared to take possession of Babylon, he once 
more seated himself upon the throne. His triumph was, 
however, short lived, for before he had reigned a year he was 
an exile, hiding among the marshes, and Sennacherib had re- 
turned to Nineveh with a crowd of captives and much spoil. 

Sennacherib's next expedition was eastward, over the 702. 
Zagros mountains and towards the Caspian Sea. The cam- 
paign was difficult and dangerous, but entirely successful, and 
we read that on his way back he " received a heavy tribute " 
from the Medes, "the name of whom," he incorrectly says, 
" had been heard of by none among the kings my fathers ". 

Next year he began the most famous of his expeditions. 
Palestine and Phoenicia were as usual extremely restless, and 
their disaffection was encouraged by Shabatok, king of Egypt, 
who promised help. Hezekiah was still king of Judah, and 
he, together with the kings of various surrounding princi- 
palities, threw off the Assyrian yoke. Sennacherib, beginning 
9 (129) 



130 ASSYEIA 

with Sidon, soon subdued the cities of Phoenicia, and marched 
southward along the coast to Philistia. Various petty rulers 
submitted, and at last only Ekron, Lachish and Judah re- 
mained in rebellion. When Sennacherib attacked Ekron an 
Egyptian force came to its assistance, but the Egyptians were 
defeated at Eltekeh and Ekron was captured. 

" I marched against the city of Ekron, and put to death the 
priests and the chief men who had rebelled, and I hung up 
their bodies on stakes all round the city." 

Sennacherib now turned his attention to Judah, and 
marching through the land captured " forty-six of his strong 
cities, together with innumerable fortresses and small towns 
which depended on them, by overthrowing the walls and open 
attack by battle engines and battering-rams. I besieged, I 
captured, I brought out from the midst of them and counted 
as a spoil 200,150 persons, great and small, male and female, 
horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen and sheep without number ". 

Hezekiah, now shut up in Jerusalem " like a bird in a 
cage " and thoroughly alarmed, endeavoured to make peace, 
sending to Nineveh tribute of great value, to obtain which he 
had to empty his own treasury and strip gold from the temple. 

The account given of this campaign by Sennacherib ends 
with this triumph, but we know from the Scriptures and from 
Egyptian history that there was more to be told. Not satisfied 
with payment of tribute Sennacherib demanded the uncon- 
ditional surrender of Jerusalem and, to make the demand more 
impressive, sent three important officers to Hezekiah, Tartan, 
Rabshakeh and Rabsaris. Hezekiah's officers came outside 
the city walls to meet the embassy, and asked them to 
speak in the Aramean language so that the citizens who were 
crowding the walls might not understand the conversation ; but 
Rabshakeh, who was spokesman, refused, and cried aloud to 
the people in their own language : — 

"Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able 
to deliver you out of my hand, neither let Hezekiah make you 
trust in the Lord, saying : The Lord will surely deliver us, and 



SENNACHERIB 131 

this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of 
Assyria. . . . Hath any of the gods of the nations ever 
delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria ? 
Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad ? . . . Who are 
they among all the gods of the countries that have delivered 
their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver 
Jerusalem out of mine hand ? " 

Hezekiah in extremity laid the matter before the Lord, 
sending for Isaiah to advise him. Through Isaiah he received 
God's answer to the insults of the proud Assyrian : — 

" The virgin, the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and 
laughed thee to scorn ; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken 
her head at thee. 

" Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed ? and against 
whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes 
on high ? even against the Holy One of Israel. . . . 

" But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming 
in, and thy rage against me. 

" Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up 
into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and 
my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way 
by which thou earnest. ... < v> 

" For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, 
and for my servant David's sake." 

The campaign now took a new turn. Sennacherib was 
farther south than Jerusalem, and the Egyptian army, defeated 
and dispirited, was watching him from its frontier when a 
terrible disaster overwhelmed the Assyrians. It may have 
been a sudden attack of the plague, a disease to which 
Oriental armies, from their utter neglect of sanitation, are 
extremely subject, and before which they quickly succumb. 
At any rate, Sennacherib's expedition came to an abrupt 
conclusion, and he made a hasty retreat. Moreover, though 
he lived for twenty years after that, he never troubled 
Judah again, and a quarter of a century passed before Palestine 
saw another Assyrian army. 



132 ASSYEIA 

The next years of Sennacherib's life were devoted to war 
against Babylonia. Merodach-baladan, who had struggled so 

700. bravely for national liberty, was now a worn-out man, but 
Nergal-yusezib stirred up a revolt and fought with pertinac- 
ity until he was overcome. Meanwhile Merodach-baladan 's 
followers, who had been driven out of Babylonia, got land from 
the king of Elam and established a colony on the Persian 
Gulf. In modern times this would be looked upon as a most 
laudable proceeding, but Sennacherib had ships built and 
manned by Phoenicians with the aid of which he destroyed 
their settlements. At this time Nergal-yusezib made another 
attack upon Babylonia, aided by the Elamites, and succeeded 
in defeating the Assyrians at Nippur. Dying shortly after- 
wards he was succeeded by Musezib-Merodach, who held his 
own for several years. At length, Sennacherib made a great 
effort and overthrew the combined forces of Babylon and Elam 

690. in the battle of Khalule. Elam was ravaged, " the smoke of 
burning towns obscuring the heavens ". Then came the turn 
of Babylon, which was stormed, sacked, burnt, flooded, and 
so obliterated that further resistance seemed for ever im- 
possible. This treatment of their mother city by the 
Assyrians was horrible, and it is matter for congratulation 
that Babylon thus apparently blotted out should have risen 
from its ashes and lived to see its brutal assailant perish. 

Sennacherib's concluding years were spent in Nineveh,, 
where he had resided for the most part. He built there the 
finest of Assyrian palaces, and was lavish in his expenditure 
on the city. 

At last, " as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch 
his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with 
the sword, and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And 
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." 



CHAPTER VII. 

ESARHADDON. 

It is a relief to pass from the reign of Sennacherib to that 681. 

of his younger son. The father was a typical despot, revelling 

in oppression, the son had many excellent traits of character 

and has been spoken of as " the noblest and most gracious 

figure " amongst Assyrian kings. Though far from perfect, yet 

he frequently appears to advantage in the course of his reign. 

First we see him as the avenger of his father's death. Bad 

though Sennacherib was, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer, 

who killed him out of jealousy, because of his preference for 

Esarhaddon, were worse. At the time of the murder, Esar- 

haddon was in Northern Armenia with the army, and although 

it was winter he marched against the unnatural pair. A 

battle was fought in Cappadocia, and it seems as if the 

Assyrians in the opposing army went over to the side of 

Esarhaddon. At all events they ended by crying " This one 

is our king ! " and the parricides fled to Armenia. 

Esarhaddon now hastened to Nineveh, and was received as 

undisputed sovereign. He proved an excellent king — having 

political wisdom as well as military genius. He found it 

necessary to proceed to Babylonia at once. Merodach-baladan 

was dead, but his son, taking advantage of Sennacherib's 

sudden death, had seized the throne and declared himself 

independent. He made no stand against Esarhaddon, who 

drove him to Elam, where he seems to have met with a violent 

end. Another son of Merodach-baladan threw himself upon 

the mercy of Esarhaddon, and was treated with kindness and 

made governor of a province. This was a politic act and 

(133) 



134 ASSYEIA 

was followed by other gracious acts towards Babylon. Esar- 
haddon had never sympathised with the cruel treatment which 
had been meted out to that ancient city, and he tried to mend 
matters as far as he could. The city had lain in ruins for 
some years, but Esarhaddon rebuilt its walls and temples, 
gave the people back the property which had been taken as 
spoil, and restored their lands. He also made the southern 
capital his residence for part of the year, and did his utmost 
to conciliate the people. The policy of conciliation worked 
wonders, and there was no further rebellion in Babylon during 
his reign. 

Esarhaddon's wise method with regard to Babylon was 
unfortunately not carried out by him elsewhere. Sidon 

676. revolted and received hard measure, its king being beheaded 
and the city destroyed. A new city was built to which ifc 
was hoped that the trade of Sidon would pass, but it went 
to Tyre instead. After the destruction of Sidon there was a 
panic amongst the princes, and twenty-two of them submitted 
to Esarhaddon, amongst the rest Baal, king of Tyre, and 
Manasseh, king of Judah. Scarcely, however, had Esarhaddon 
retired, than these shifty kings revolted, foolishly trusting 
in the promises of Tirhakah, who had been king in Ethiopia, 
and having conquered Shabatok was now reigning over all 
Egypt. Manasseh was quickly captured and carried in fetters 
to Babylon, where the Assyrian court was then residing, 
but after a time he was forgiven and allowed to return to 
his kingdom. Having blockaded Tyre, Esarhaddon next 
determined to subdue Egypt, which for two centuries had 

671. been the head and front of the offending. Accordingly the 
Assyrian army set out for the Nile, and, Tirhakah having 
been defeated, the whole country was soon subdued, and 
Esarhaddon became master of Egypt. Determined to keep 
what he had acquired he reorganised the government. It 
was divided into twenty provinces, and over each of these 
was placed a governor, sometimes a native, sometimes an 
Assyrian. Esarhaddon also left garrisons in cities of strategic 



ESAEHADDON 135 

importance and then, having settled the tribute and ordered 
certain cities to be rebuilt, he returned to Assyria. 

Previous to the conquest of Egypt Esarhaddon had made a 
most daring expedition into Arabia, his object perhaps being 
to strike terror into the hearts of the Bedouin, who were a 
great trouble to the traders on the caravan routes. He seems 
to have travelled hundreds of miles through the sandy and 
waterless desert without mishap, and to have reached the 
lands of Huz and Buz. An interesting incident occurred in 
connection with this campaign. A chief, named Lailie, fled at 
his approach, whereupon his goods, including his gods, were 
confiscated and carried to Nineveh. Lailie followed Esarhad- 
don to the capital, and besought him to return his household 
deities, and Esarhaddon did so. The incident shows that 
Esarhaddon must have had a reputation for generosity, else 
the Arabian would scarcely have dared thus to thrust his 
head into the lion's mouth. 

Only one other campaign need be mentioned — that against 
the Cimmerian tribes, who began during his reign to trickle 
southward over the Caucasus. Esarhaddon went against 
these, and in a battle fought in Cappadocia defeated them, 
slaying Teispes their leader. The immediate result of this 
battle was to divert the stream of emigrants westward for a 
time, but a few years later the stream became a torrent which 
all the strength of Assyria could not stem. 

Towards the end of his reign Esarhaddon associated his 
son Assur-bani-pal with him in the government, and not long 
after, when on his way back to Egypt, he died. He had shown 
himself an able ruler, having added Egypt and a considerable 
section of Arabia to the empire, and having by his conciliatory 
methods kept Babylonia at peace. He carried on the trans- 
planting policy, especially in Palestine, where he still further 
increased the foreign element. He was by no means perfect, 
and his treatment of Sidon was cruel, but he had kingly 
qualities, was often merciful, and may fairly be considered 
the best of the Assyrian kings. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ASSUR-BANI-PAL. 

668. Assur-bani-pal, who now succeeded his father, had few or 
none of his estimable qualities. Esarhaddon was superior to 
the ordinary Assyrian monarch, but in Assur-bani-pal there 
was a reversion to the type. His father had associated him 
with himself in the government after returning from Egypt. 
Scarcely had he returned when he learned that Tirhakah was 
again at large, had descended the Nile, captured Memphis, 
and once more ruled as king. It was necessary, therefore, 
that Egypt should be reconquered, and Esarhaddon was pro- 
ceeding to do this when he died. The task fell upon his 
son, and Tirhakah was again defeated, the viceroys re- 
stored, and the garrisons strengthened. No sooner, however, 
had the Assyrians left the country than the work was again 
undone. The Egyptians did not love Tirhakah, but they 
loved the Assyrians less, and the very governors whom Assur- 
bani-pal appointed conspired against him. Some of the con- 
spirators were captured and sent in chains to Nineveh, amongst 
them being Necho, a man of unusual ability. Assur-bani-pal 
tried a new plan. Recognising Necho's worth he sent him 
back as chief of the petty princes, and gave his son Psamatik 
a province. It was now Necho's interest to remain loyal and 
keep the others to their allegiance, and the plan might have 
succeeded had Tirhakah lived. But he died, and was suc- 
ceeded by an energetic and popular son who speedily gained 
adherents, captured Memphis, slew Necho and again over- 
threw the Assyrian power. 

(136) 



ASSUE-BANI-PAL 137 

There was nothing for it but a new expedition, and Assur- 
bani-pal led it in person. Once more the Egyptian king was 
chased up the Nile, and took refuge in Ethiopia, the Assyrians 
following him as far as Thebes. This ancient capital had 
been responsible for much of the trouble, having been generally 
the first to espouse the cause of the Ethiopian kings, and 
Assur-bani-pal now poured upon it the vials of his wrath, 661. 
destroying monuments, temples and palaces of 'priceless value, 
and sweeping the city like a flood. The prophet Nahum in 
graphic words afterwards reminded Nineveh of the destruction 
which she herself had brought upon this great city, the city 
of No-Amon. 

"Art thou better than populous No, that was situate 
among the rivers, the waters round about it, whose rampart 
was the sea, her wall from the sea. 

" Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity ; her 
young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the 
streets : and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all 
her great men were bound in chains." 

Esarhaddon had besieged Tyre before his death and the 
siege had lingered, but Assur-bani-pal redoubled his efforts 
and it surrendered. It was the greatest commercial city in 
the world, and the double conquest of Egypt and of Tyre 
created so profound an impression that smaller kingdoms 
submitted to Esarhaddon without further question. Amongst 
those who sent tribute was Gyges, king of Lydia, a country 
of which the Assyrians had apparently not even heard. 

The conquest of Egypt proved to be but temporary. 
Psamatik, the son of Necho, who had been made governor of 
a province, was, since his father's death, the most important 
of the petty princes. He determined to weld Egypt again 
into one state, and made alliance with Gyges of Lydia from 
whom he hired Greek mercenaries. With the help of these he 
subdued the other princes, and when he found himself suffici- 
ently powerful to run the risk, he threw off the Assyrian 
yoke. Assur-bani-pal, already surrounded with trouble, was 



138 ASSYEIA 

unable to send another expedition, and Egypt passed finally 
out of the hands of the Assyrian. 

About the same time wars were in progress in Arabia, 
Elam and Babylonia. Arabia was most easily dealt with, for 
the tribes were so scattered that they could make little stand, 
so the chief men were slain, the cattle driven away, the corn 
cut down, and the people left to starve. 

Elam fought fiercely, and when one king Ur-taki was 
beaten and committed suicide, his brother took up the fight- 
ing, but was routed and slain at Shushan. Still the Elamites 
fought, until Assur-bani-pal invaded the country with over- 
whelming forces, and carried death and destruction throughout 
the land. City after city he destroyed until he came to 
Shushan. The ancient capital was sacked, the buildings 
thrown into a heap, and the heap burnt. 

Meanwhile there was a serious revolution in Babylonia 
where the king's brother Samas-sum-yukin, who was viceroy, 
647. rebelled. The rebellion was not crushed without great diffi- 
culty, but, at last, the city having been reduced by famine, 
Samas-sum-yukin set fire to the palace, and perished in its 
ruins. 

Thus Assyria was partially triumphant, but the victory 
had been gained at a heavy cost. Egypt was finally lost, for 
the Assyrians were not strong enough to fight that battle 
over again, Elam was crushed, but Babylonia, though for the 
moment silenced, was as rebellious at heart as ever. Another 
viceroy was appointed, named Kandalanu, and he ruled for 
twenty -two years, nominally under Assyria, but really as an 
independent sovereign. 

There is little record of the last years of Assur-bani-pal, 
and there was probably nothing pleasant to write about. He 
built on a large scale, and his work was not inferior to that of 
his predecessors. The north palace at Nineveh, built by him, 
was one of the finest of Assyrian buildings. His most 
meritorious work was the institution of the Royal Library. 
Tiglath-pileser III. had begun collecting tablets, Sargon, Senna- 



ASSUE-BANI-PAL 139 

cherib, and Esarhaddon had added to the collection, but Assur- 
bani-pal gathered them in great numbers and upon every 
conceivable subject. The library was in the palace and may 
have contained 30,000 tablets. Eventually palace and library 
were overtaken by one common ruin, but it has been the good 
fortune of the explorers of the nineteenth century to dig up 
many of these treasures and to decipher tablets written 
twenty-live centuries ago. In the reign of Assur-bani-pal 
Assyrian art reached a high level of excellence, and some 
of the productions of this period are still used as models of 
classical art. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE FALL OF ASSUR. 

Assur-bani-pal had made prodigious efforts to maintain the 
integrity of the empire, and had not lost any important pro- 
vince besides Egypt, but in the effort Assyria had overtaxed 
her strength. It is probable that the decline of the empire 
began during his reign, for the records cease and the further 
history is obscure. 

The Assyrians had indeed only enemies on every side. 
In Egypt Psamatik maintained his independence and even 
threatened Syria, capturing Gaza and laying siege to Ashdod. 
On the east the Medes were centralising and becoming for- 
midable, and in the south the Babylonians were as rebellious 
as ever. 

Possibly taking advantage of a revolution at Babylon, 
Phraortes, king of the Medes, attacked Assyria, but was 
defeated and slain. 

Phraortes left a son Cyaxares, more warlike than himself. 
Perceiving that the Medes lacked discipline, he went to great 
pains to organise the army, after which he drove the Assyrians 
out of Media and even invaded Assyria itself. His enterprise 
was, however, brought to an abrupt conclusion by difficulties 
in his own country which called imperatively for his return. 

For many years unrest had been increasing amongst the 
nomadic tribes who lived north of the Caucasus. The 
Scythians who lived farthest north had pushed the Cim- 
merians out of their homes, and these in their turn invaded 
Asia Minor. Being met by Esarhaddon and defeated, they 

turned west towards Lydia, where, after varied fortune, they 

(140) 



THE FALL OF ASSUE 141 

slew King Gyges in battle. The Cimmerians had been bad 
enough, but now the Scythians followed in such numbers 
that it was no longer possible to turn the invaders aside. 
Bands of them reached Media, and it was the knowledge of 
this that made it necessary for Cyaxares to return. For the 
moment, therefore, the Scythian invasion gave Assyria a 
breathing space, but it was only for the moment. Cyaxares 
was overcome and had to submit for a time, but the mountains 
of Media were not so captivating as the rich plains of Syria 
and the Scythians spread southward until he was able to 
throw their yoke off his neck. Assyria was not so fortunate. 
She lay in the high road from the north and suffered more 
than any other country. The country itself was plundered 
and ravaged on every side, but this was not all, for it was 
impossible for her to exercise any jurisdiction over her outlying 
provinces. It was all she could do to guard her own head, and 
her provinces fell from her with one accord. 

Assur-etil-ilani succeeded Assur-bani-pal, and was in his 
turn succeeded by Sin-sarra-iskun or Saracos. Tablets have 
just been found dated in the accession year of Sin-sum-lisir 
who seems to have intervened between Assur-etil-ilani and 
Sin-sarra-iskun. But he may have been a rebel king. 

The troubles of Assyria gave her enemies their chance. 
Media had shaken off the Scythians, Babylonia had scarcely 
felt them. They travelled to the borders of Egypt but were 
bribed by Psamatik and turned back. A golden opportunity 
presented itself to these powers, and they were not slow to 
take advantage of it. 

Accordingly an alliance was entered into between Nabo- 
polassar, king of Babylonia, and Cyaxares, king of the Medes, 
and cemented by marriage between the daughter of Cyaxares 
and Nebuchadrezzar the son of Nabopolassar. In Egypt 
Psamatik had been succeeded by his son Pharaoh Necho, 
who also determined to seize the occasion, so that Assyria was 
attacked on three sides. 

The Egyptian army was the first in motion. Necho 's 



142 ASSYEIA 

course lay through Judah where Josiah opposed him, but 
was defeated and slain. After this Necho soon reached 
Carchemish and captured it, thus gaining command of As- 
syria's western empire. Meanwhile the Medes and Babylonians 
invaded Assyria itself and ravaged the land. They were 
defeated once or twice, but fresh contingents kept arriving 
and at last the king was shut up in Nineveh. Apparently he 
made a great effort to save his kingdom, for the siege is said 
to have lasted for two years. The fortifications seemed im- 
pregnable, but a flood broke down a portion of the wall 
after which the besiegers quickly entered and Nineveh was 
606. destroyed. 

The empire was divided between the victors, Necho taking 
the west, Cyaxares the north, Nabopolassar the south. For 
some reason, however, Nabopolassar and Necho quarrelled 
immediately, and the former sent his son Nebuchadrezzar to 
Carchemish, where he defeated the Egyptians, driving them 
out of Syria, so that Necho gained nothing by his effort. 

The terrible reckoning of the nations against Assyria had 
now been settled in full. Other cities have been destroyed 
and rebuilt, but Nineveh fell to rise no more. Henceforth 
the Assyrian Empire was merged in the Babylonian from 
which it had originally sprung, and the great city became a 
desolation — a place for wild beasts to lie down in. 



MEDES AND PERSIANS. 



TABLE OF THE KINGS OF THE MEDES. 



Deioces. 
Phraortes. 



Astyages (King of the Manda). 



TABLE OF THE KINGS OF THE MEDES AND PEKSIANS. 



Cyrus the Great. 

Cambyses 

Smerdis. . . . -r 
Darius the Great. 
Xerxes I. (Ahasuerus). 
Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus). 
Xerxes II. .... 

Sogdianus 

Darius II. (Nothus). 
Artaxerxes II. (Mnemon). . 
Artaxerxes III. (Ochus). 

Arses 

Darius III. (Codomannus). 




10 



MEDES AND PERSIANS. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE MEDES. 

The tract lying between the Indian Ocean and the Caspian 
Sea, called by its inhabitants Iran, and by us Persia, was, from 
early times, peopled by hardy, highland tribes, most of whom 
had migrated southward from Turkestan, and who now dwelt, 
sometimes alone, sometimes mingled with the earlier inhabi- 
tants. Of these tribes the more southern were the Persians, 
whose princes were said to be descended from a king Achae- 
menes ; the more northern were the Medes, who lived in 
separate tribes, not recognising any central authority. Both 
Medes and Persians had been originally followers of Zoroaster, 
who taught a dual religion, namely, that in the world two 
spirits, Ormuzd and Ahriman, the spirit of good and the 
spirit of evil, contended for the mastery. Ormuzd, the 
spirit of goodness and light, was worshipped on mountain 
tops, where fires burned unceasingly in his honour. The 
Persians had kept themselves comparatively pure in race 
and religion, but the Medes had mixed with the earlier 
inhabitants, and their religion had degenerated into a kind of 
devil worship, carried on by their priests, the Magi, with 
exorcisms and enchantments. 

South-west of the territory occupied by the Medes lay 
Elam, a country peopled by men of a different race, who had 
formed themselves into a kingdom from a very early period, 
and had made their power felt in Babylonia, Syria and 

perhaps even Egypt. Latterly they had been kept under 

(147) 



148 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

by Assyria, but had fought fiercely for their independence. 
Their capital was Susa or Shushan, which had been destroyed 
by Assur-bani-pal, the last great Assyrian king, but was 
rebuilt after his death. Those three peoples, the Elamites, 
Medes and Persians, eventually united to form the ruling race 
known as the Medes and Persians, under whose kings the 
mighty Persian Empire was gathered together which was 
eventually conquered by Alexander the Great, and after his 
death divided amongst his generals. 

834. Our first historical contact with the Medes, so far as pro- 

fane history is concerned, occurs in the reign of Shalmaneser 
II. who, in the ninth century before our era, ruled in Assyria 
and made campaigns to the east, in the course of which he 
destroyed many of their cities. 

During the reign of Samsi-Rimmon II., and the succeed- 
ing reign of Rimmon-nirari III., there were several expeditions 
against the Medes, who became tributary to Assyria. 

713. Forty-five Median chiefs submitted to Sargon, and his 

power in their country is shown by the fact that he 
carried many captives from Samaria to the cities of the 
Medes. 

Sennacherib boasts that he had ambassadors from the 
remoter parts of Media, and Esarhaddon and other Assyrian 
kings invaded Median territory, receiving tribute. At last the 
Medes saw that if they were to make any stand against their 
enemies they must centralise, and they banded themselves 
under a chief whose name legend declares to have been 
Deioces. 

During the reign of Assur-bani-pal the Assyrians were 
too busy to pay attention to the Medes, who increased in 
strength the more freely as Assur-bani-pal crushed Elam, 
which otherwise might have kept them in check. Deioces 
was succeeded by Phraortes, who extended the borders of the 

640. kingdom and conquered the Persians. He next attacked 
Assur-bani-pal but in this overestimated his strength, for he 
was defeated and slain with the greater part of his army. 



THE MEDES 149 

Phraortes was succeeded by Cyaxares, a man of great 
ability, who united the tribes more thoroughly, and gathered 
together so formidable an army that he thrust the Assyrians 
out of Media, invaded Assyria itself, and would have be- 
sieged Nineveh but that difficulties at home demanded his 
return. 

For some years the tribes dwelling north of the Caucasus 
had been in a condition of unrest. The Scythians had driven 
the Cimmerians south, and following them into Asia Minor, 
were overspreading the territory ruled by Cyaxares. He 
accordingly hastened back, but was defeated and for some 
time had to submit to the nomads. For the moment Assyria 
was relieved, but shortly after she also was overrun and 
ravaged without mercy. Cyaxares, whose territories were 
not so alluring as those of Assyria, regained his power and 
found himself in a few years again able to give battle to 
Assyria, now greatly weakened. Nabopolassar whom Assur- 
bani-pal had made viceroy was now king in Babylonia. He 
entered into alliance with Cyaxares, and planned a joint attack 
upon the common enemy. At the same time Assyria was 
also attacked by Pharaoh Necho who thought he saw a chance 
of regaining Egypt's Asiatic empire. 

The Assyrians made what resistance they could. Pharaoh 
Necho somewhat easily gained the western portion of the 
empire by the battle of Enegiddo, but Cyaxares and Nabopo- 
lassar had to fight hard before the Assyrian king was at last 
shut up in his capital. Even then the siege of Nineveh lasted 
two years, and the city at length fell owing to a flood having 606. 
made a breach in the walls. 

Assyria was now divided into three parts, Necho re- 
taining the west, Cyaxares taking the northern and eastern 
provinces, Nabopolassar the south. But shortly afterwards 
Nebuchadrezzar, the son of the Babylonian king, attacked 
Necho at Carchemish, drove him back to Egypt and robbed 
him of his share of the spoil. 

Cyaxares might well have been satisfied with his extra- 



150 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

ordinary success, but he made further conquests until his 
empire extended from Bactria in the east to the river Halys 
in the west. His western frontier was thus conterminous with 
the ancient kingdom of Lydia, then under the rule of Alyattes, 
and on that fertile land Cyaxares cast longing eyes. A 
war ensued in which Cyaxares was helped by Nebuchadrezzar,, 
but Lydia, though a small country, had great resources and 
the contest was prolonged. At length, after about six years, 
when every one was tired of the war, an eclipse of the sun 
took place during a battle. This was accepted as a sign that 
the gods desired peace, and peace was made accordingly. 



CHAPTER II. 

CYRUS THE GREAT. 

During the half century following the fall of Nineveh and 
the conquests of Cyaxares, the land of Elam, which had been 
cruelly ravaged by Assyria, recovered its strength. Cyrus was 
now its ruler, a prince of the Achsemenian line so highly 
esteemed in Persia, who acknowledged the suzerainty of 
Astyages, king of the Manda of Ecbatana. The Manda were 
Scythians and had conquered the Medes, whose territory lay 
north-east of Ecbatana, extending to the Caspian. Subsequent 
generations confounded Medes and Manda together, but in any 
case they merged under Cyrus. The branch of the royal family 
of Persia from which he descended migrated into Elam some 
generations before his birth, and he is represented as " son of 
Cambyses, son of Cyrus, son of Teispes, son of Achaemenes, 
of the ancient seed royal". An inscription informs us that 
the barbarians under Astyages captured Harran and destroyed 
the temple, whereupon Nabonidos, king of Babylon, dreamt 
that the deity instructed him to repair it. On his represent- 
ing to Merodach that the forces of the barbarians were greater 
than he could encounter, he was assured that a power would 
be raised up to destroy them, and this power proved to be 
Cyrus. 

The inscription is somewhat fanciful, but agrees with the 
simple facts of the case, which were that Astyages and Naboni- 
dos were at war, when Cyrus attacked the former in the rear. 549 
Astyages was defeated, whereupon his army revolted, and de- 
livered him bound into the hands of Cyrus. During the next 

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152 MEDES AND PERSIANS 

three years Cyrus must have acquired Persia also, because 
whilst in the earlier part of his annals he is called " king of 
Anzan " or Elam, in a later he is styled " king of Persia ". 
This acquisition was doubtless more easily made because Cyrus 
was of the Persian blood royal. The Medes also fell at 
once under his sway, so that he was now a powerful monarch, 
Elamites. Persians, Manda and Medes obeying his command. 
As regards the outer world these changes made no difference : 
indeed the Greeks continued to speak of " the Medes " as if 
there had been no change at all. 

Cyrus had now a greater territory than that over which 
Cyaxares had ruled, and being still young he seemed likely 
to add to his empire. His success alarmed the neighbouring 
powers, and Lydia, Babylon and Egypt entered into alliance 
against him. Croesus, king of Lydia, was the first to act. 
Buoyed up by an apparently favourable but really equivocal 
546. oracle from Delphi, he invaded Cappadocia, then under 
Persian suzerainty. Before help could come from either 
Babylon or Egypt, Cyrus was upon him. The first battle was 
indecisive, and as the Persians retreated a few miles Croesus 
thought the campaign over and also retired, intending to 
defer further operations until the following spring. But 
when he had dismissed his allies and returned home, Cyrus 
pursued him to his capital, and so pressed him that within 
a fortnight Sardis was captured and Croesus was a prisoner. 
He never recovered his kingdom, which was now merged 
in the Persian, but he was kindly treated by Cyrus, and 
became his firm friend, living at court with him and his 
successor. 

The fall of Croesus created a profound impression, and 
Lydia at once submitted. The Asiatic Greeks in the coast 
towns, however, thinking they might perhaps regain the 
autonomy of which Croesus had deprived them, refused to 
yield — Miletus being the only city that paid homage. Cyrus 
left Mazares with an army to finish the conquest, and 
when the latter died, Harpagus succeeded him and had little 



CYEUS THE GEEAT 153 

difficulty in subduing the cities. When once they submitted, 
the terms imposed were not burdensome, self-government was 
not interfered with, they had but to pay tribute and supply 
armed contingents when required. The conquest of these 
cities was of great importance to the Persians, for it gave 
them access to the Mediterranean and the command of a fleet 
when required. 

Whilst Harpagus was busy in the west, Cyrus was in the 
east, pushing his conquests as far as the frontier of India. 
When he had consolidated his power in this direction, and 
obtained undisputed command over an almost inexhaustible 
supply of the best soldiers in Asia, he turned southward to 
attack Babylonia. 

Nabonidos, the king of Babylon, expected to be attacked 
and had made every preparation for resistance. In his efforts 
Tie was aided by " the Queen Mother," evidently a woman of 
determination and ability, and by his son Belshazzar who was 
associated with him in the kingdom. A fortified camp was 
established at Sippara, and so well was Northern Babylonia 
protected, that Cyrus failed to break through the defences for 
several years. It happened that throughout Babylonia, and 
especially in the capital itself, there were many disaffected, 
particularly amongst the exiles, so Cyrus prepared his way 
for further effort by intrigue. In the seventeenth year of 
Nabonidos he made another advance, approaching Babylonia 
from the south-east. This time he was successful, defeating 538. 
Nabonidos in a pitched battle, after which Sippara, the second 
city in the kingdom, fell by treachery. Immediately after 
Babylon opened its gates to Gobryas, the general of Cyrus, 
and was taken so peaceably that business was not even sus- 
pended during the transference of government. Cyrus had 
doubtless many friends in the city, and was welcomed as 
a deliverer. These events happened in June, and Cyrus 
did not himself enter Babylon until October. A few days 
after he entered, Nabonidos, who had been lying in prison, 
died. Belshazzar was dead some months before, having 



154 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

been either assassinated or killed in the battle fought near 
Sippara. 

The authority of Cyrus was now recognised throughout 
Babylonia, and he hastened to ingratiate himself with the 
people. Aware from experience how dangerous it was to 
have a disaffected people living in the heart of the empire, one 
of his first acts was to permit as many Babylonian exiles as 
chose to return to their native lands. Amongst those who 
took advantage of his permission were the Jews, of whom a 
large number returned to Palestine under the leadership of 
Zerubbabel. Cyrus' kindness to the Jews was not prompted 
by religious affinity, for, contrary to what was at one time 
supposed, it is now known that he was a worshipper of 
the gods of Babylon ; so that it must have been purely an 
act of policy. Not only was he glad to win the gratitude 
of those who as exiles could not fail to be disaffected, but 
he saw that if Jerusalem were rebuilt and in the hands of 
a friendly people, it would be a splendid bulwark against 
Egypt, and a base for his operations should he invade that 
country. 

Not much is known about the remaining years of Cyrus' 
life. He did not attack Egypt as might have been expected, 
but instead added greatly to the empire, eastward as far as 
529. the Indus, and northward to the Jaxartes. He fell at last 
when attacking a tribe dwelling north of the sea of Aral, in 
what is now Southern Siberia. When he died, his empire 
was greater in extent than either the Assyrian or Babylonian 
had been ; for, though he had not subdued Egypt, he had 
conquered Lydia, and districts both north and east which his 
predecessors had not interfered with. His soldiers recovered 
his body and brought it back to Pasargada, where his tomb is 
still to be seen. 

Cyrus was a splendid military chief, and able to endear 
himself to his followers, but he did not possess much adminis- 
trative talent. Probably the empire came upon him as a 
surprise, following as it did his easy victory over Astyages, 



CYEUS THE GEEAT 155 

his suzerain. That victory opened the door by which he 
passed from being king over an obscure country to be head 
of a vast empire — the greatest of reigning sovereigns. Though 
a conqueror he lacked the statesmanlike talent which organises 
and binds. Nevertheless he had many excellent qualities, 
and his memory is held in high veneration by the Persians to 
this day. 



CHAPTER III. 

CAMBYSES. 

529. Cyrus at his death left two sons, Cambyses and Bardes, and 
had desired that, whilst Cambyses succeeded him, Bardes 
should receive a portion of the vast inheritance, but Cambyses 
had his brother secretly assassinated. 

Having thus secured his position, Cambyses determined to 
carry out the conquest of Egypt, which had doubtless been in 
his father's mind before he died, and spent four years prepar- 
ing for the invasion. Cambyses saw that his attack would be 
more likely to succeed if he were supported by a fleet, and he 
obtained vessels from the coast ports of Asia, as well as 
from Phoenicia and Cyprus both of which had submitted 
to him without conquest. 

526. While the Persian army was on its march, Amasis the 

reigning king of Egypt died and Psamatik II. succeeded him. 
Cambyses fought against him at Pelusium, and although the 
Egyptians were aided by Greek mercenaries they were com- 
pletely overthrown, and Psamatik made 'no further effort. 
The adjacent colonies of Cyrene and Barca and the Libyan 
tribes on the frontier also submitted to Cambyses, so that his 
conquest of Egypt was complete. 

Cambyses remained some years in Egypt, and organised it 
as a Persian province. He had been fortunate so far, and had 
he been content with his good fortune he might have enjoyed 
it for many years. Unfortunately the lust of conquest had 
seized him, and he determined to conquer Africa. He planned 
three expeditions, against Carthage, against the oasis of Amon, 

and against Ethiopia. He was unable to carry out the first 

(156) 



CAMBYSES 157 

because the Phoenicians, who manned the best part of his fleet, 
refused to attack their own kith and kin. He sent a great 
army from Thebes against Amon, but, unaccustomed to 
desert warfare and desert life, his troops perished to a man. 
He then led in person an army southward against Ethiopia, 
but, falling short of supplies, had to return in order to avoid 
disaster. 

The result of these reverses was far reaching. The Persians 
lost confidence in their king, whilst he became soured and 
savage in temper and made enemies for himself. Many tales 
have come down to us of his intolerance towards Egyptian 
worship. Herodotus says that he openly scoffed at the gods 
of Egypt, destroyed their images and slew Apis their sacred 
bull. As it was thought that Cambyses was a monotheist, 
and presumably averse to the worship of idols, these stories 
were formerly accepted as true, but the inscriptions now dis- 
covered prove him to have been an idolater, and unlikely to 
have acted as has been described. Egyptian monuments con- 
firm this, representing him as a benefactor to their priests and 
religion. Moreover the very bull which he is reported to 
have mortally wounded was buried in a sarcophagus of 
which the inscription has been found, and this inscription 
states that the bull was buried in peace and with the usual 
royal honours, while a sculpture represents Cambyses before 
him in an attitude of worship. These stories against his 
memory must therefore be treated as fictions, and it would 
seem rather that the Egyptians became attached to his rule, 
for Egypt was almost the only part of the empire that did 
not revolt at his death. 

Cambyses, however, had acted unwisely in several ways, 
and disaster overtook him at last. The greater part of his 
reign having been spent in Egypt, there was discontent 
in the capital. The failure of the campaigns against 
Amon and Ethiopia lowered his prestige, whilst the secrecy 
with which his brother had been assassinated put a power- 
ful weapon into the hands of his enemies. Accordingly 



158 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

a Magian priest, named Gomates, who chanced to resemble the 
murdered prince, came forward to personate him, and a general 
rising took place in his favour. As soon as Cambyses heard 
of the revolt he appointed a satrap over Egypt and started for 
the capital, but on his way home he heard how widely the 
revolt had spread, and, apparently losing hope, committed 
suicide. 
521. Smerdis or Gomates, the pretender, who now ruled, en- 

deavoured to make himself popular by remitting the taxes 
paid by the provinces, and proclaiming freedom from military 
service. His usurpation was unfortunate for the Jews, as he 
reversed the decree of Cyrus which authorised the rebuilding of 
the temple at Jerusalem, so that the Samaritans were able to 
make " them to cease by force and power ". When he had 
reigned about seven months, and it had become evident that 
he was an impostor, a conspiracy was formed amongst the 
leading Persians, six of whom, led by Darius, son of 
Hystaspes, a descendant of the royal house of Persia, attacked 
him in the fort of Sikhyuvatis in Media and slew him, after 
which Darius ascended the throne. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DARIUS THE GREAT. 

The history of the Persian Empire, which has been generally 521. 
considered to begin with Cyrus, may more properly be held 
to begin with Darius. Cyrus was certainly of Persian ex- 
traction, but at the time when he founded his empire he was 
prince of Elam, and he merely added Media and Persia to 
his dominions. He was neither by birth nor religion a true 
Persian, for both he and Cambyses worshipped the Babylo- 
nian gods. Darius, on the other hand, was both by birth 
and religion a Persian, descended like Cyrus from the royal 
Achsemenian house of Persia, and a follower of the Zoroastrian 
faith. The ancestors of Darius had remained in Persia, whilst 
the branch of the family of which Cyrus was a member had 
settled in Elam. In the Behistun inscription, believed to have 
been executed about the fifth year of his reign, Darius says : 
" Eight kings of my race have held the kingdom before me, I 
am the ninth who hold the kingdom, in two lines we have been 
kings ". 

The accession of Darius was not popular. He was not 
the heir of Cambyses ; the various provinces were disinclined 
to place themselves under Persian domination ; and neither the 
followers of Magism, nor the worshippers of idols were cordial 
towards the Zoroastrian faith. Hence one province after another 
revolted, no fewer than eight pretenders arose, and it seemed 
as if the empire must dissolve in anarchy. But Darius proved 
to be a man of genius and resistless energy ; and although 
the reconquest of the empire took him five years, it was 

achieved at last. 

(159) 



160 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

Naturally enough Elam was the first state to rebel. Cyrus 
and Canibyses had been Elamites, and their state held the lead 
and refused to take the second place. No sooner was the 
revolt in Elam put down than another arose in Babylon, led by 
one who claimed to be of the line of Nebuchadrezzar. Aided 
by the magic of his name this leader held Babylon for nearly 
two years, at the end of which time the city was captured 
and the leader, whether pretender or otherwise, slain. Mean- 
while other rebellions broke out in Media, Parthia, Armenia, 
and elsewhere, only Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor remaining 
faithful. It needed a man of extraordinary determination 
to quench the flame, but Darius did this, and at length his 
authority was established throughout the empire. 
520. In the second year of Darius, the Jews, whose work had 

been rudely stopped in the preceding reign, recommenced the 
restoration of the temple. The work had not proceeded far 
when Tatnai, the satrap of Syria, interfered, whereupon the 
Jews did not cease building, but informed him that Cyrus 
had issued a decree authorising them. Tatnai sent to Darius 
to ask if this were so, and search was made in the library 
at Babylon, but no such decree was found. The search was 
however extended to Ecbatana, and there a papyrus roll was 
found with a copy of the decree, after finding which Darius 
ordered Tatnai not to interfere with the work but rather to 
facilitate it, so that in the sixth year of his reign the temple 
was finished and dedicated. 

Having conquered his enemies, Darius next reformed 
the method of governing. Under his predecessors the 
government of the subject states had been very unsystematic; 
in fact so long as they sent tribute and did not openly 
revolt, nothing more was required. Darius perceived that in 
order to hold the empire together, the administration must 
be conducted on different lines. Accordingly he divided 
the empire into satrapies, over each of which a satrap or 
governor was placed who had charge of its affairs and 
was responsible for the tribute, which was fixed according 



DAEIUS THE GEEAT 161 

to the wealth of the satrapy. The satraps were almost in the 
position of kings ; but, lest they might aim at independence, 
their power was checked by other officers who were directly 
responsible to the crown. Of these the most important were 
the military commander, who had control of the forces in the 
satrapy, and the royal secretary, who reported to the king all 
that took place in it. The number of the satrapies has not 
been ascertained with precision ; twenty-three are mentioned 
on the inscription of Darius at Behistun, and twenty-nine on 
his tomb. The satraps subdivided their satrapies into districts, 
and appointed deputies, each of whom was responsible for his 
own share of the tribute. Thus though there were only twenty 
or thirty satrapies in all, 127 provinces are mentioned in the 
book of Esther. 

From the point of view of the crown the new organisation 
worked well, the empire flourished and the revenue increased. 
The contributions from the satrapies varied greatly, some paid 
between £40,000 and £50,000, Syria paid £100,000, Babylonia 
nearly £300,000, and India about £1,000,000 per annum. 
Nor was this the whole of the revenue, for there were many 
crown monopolies, fishing rights, salt rights, mining rights 
and so on. Even the water used for irrigation had often to be 
paid for by the cultivator. Besides, when the king's claims 
were satisfied, there were other claims to be considered. The 
satrap got no salary, yet he lived like a king, and after him 
came many subordinate officials not a whit less exacting. 
When all was paid, the toiler, from whose labour came all that 
was truly wealth in the empire, had just enough left to keep 
body and soul together, the limit beyond which no government 
however despotic can pass. 

Darius, however, was far from being a mere extortioner. He 
had the good of the empire at heart, and gave the people many 
advantages in exchange for the tribute. Efficient postal com- 
munication was established between the chief towns, post-houses 
with relays of horses and swift riders being placed at regular 

intervals. Each post-house was a caravanserai or public 

11 



162 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

inn, and guards patrolled to see that bridges and ferries were 
kept in proper order. Good roads were also constructed from 
point to point, so that trade passed freely and with unusual 
safety throughout the empire during his reign. 

Darius, although a Persian, wisely retained Susa as the 
capital city. It had an excellent climate, and was more central 
than Persepolis the Persian capital. He erected, however, 
various important buildings at Persepolis, the ruins of which 
are impressive even to this day. He was the first Persian 
king who coined money on a large scale. His gold darics 
were worth a little over a sovereign, his silver darics about 
a florin or half a dollar. 

After the empire had been thus organised by Darius he 
sighed for fresh conquests. On his eastern frontier lay India, 
and against it he made an important expedition. We do not 
know how far he penetrated, but he subdued the Punjaub, 
and thoroughly explored the Indus, his fleet passing down the 
river and then coasting Persia and Arabia as far as Suez. This 
was an adventurous voyage, and was imitated by Alexander 
the Great afterwards, though his fleet did not go so far. 

After his eastern expedition Darius undertook one to 
Europe which proved less satisfactory. The object of this 
enterprise, which was against the Scythians, has never been 
very clear, but probably the king thought it would add to the 
safety of his dominions if he annexed a portion of Europe. 
Relations between the Asiatic Greeks and their Oriental masters 
had never run smoothly. When Cyrus attacked Croesus he 
got no help from the Asiatic Greeks, and even when he con- 
quered Lydia they refused to submit until he had punished 
them severely, subduing their cities, and in some cases selling 
the inhabitants into slavery. Since that time there had been 
chronic unrest amongst the Greeks, and Darius knew that 
their rebellious tendencies were supported by the sympathy of 
their countrymen on the other side of the iEgean. The con- 
quest of Greece may therefore have seemed to Darius the one 
thing necessary to round off his empire, and he may have 



DAEIUS THE GEEAT 163 

thought it desirable to begin by striking terror into the 
Scythians. It was fortunate for Greece that he began his 
expedition in this somewhat circuitous way, for at that 
time Athens was under the despotism of the Peisistratidse and 
had not developed the qualities which came with freedom and 
enabled her twenty years later to defy the invader at the 
battle of Marathon. Had Darius struck directly at Greece at 
that time he would have been resisted by the Spartans in the 
south, but the rest of Greece would probably have succumbed. 
He determined, however, first to give the Scythians a lesson, 
and in order to carry this apparently harmless purpose into 
effect the help of the Asiatic Greeks was freely accorded. In 
the construction of the bridges over the Bosphorus and Danube, 
and in preparing and manning the fleet, the Asiatic Greeks 
did excellent service, nor would his scheme have been feasible 
without their aid. 

When an- army of great size had been gathered, and all was 512. 
ready for his expedition, Darius crossed the Bosphorus, marched 
through Thrace, and then, crossing the Danube by a bridge of 
boats, plunged into Scythia, leaving the Asiatic Greeks in 
charge of the bridge. The Scythians avoided a pitched battle, 
and retreated before him, driving their flocks and herds into 
the wilderness, and destroying the forage, so that the Persians 
found their difficulties increasing at every step. At last when 
two months had gone by, and the army had done the Scythians 
no harm, and was itself in a position of extreme danger, Darius 
turned, and, abandoning his wounded, retreated towards the 
Danube. A band of Scythians reached the bridge first, and 
besought the Greeks to destroy it, guaranteeing that if they 
did so not a man of the great army should escape. The long- 
headed amongst the Greeks, who guessed what Darius had in 
contemplation, were in favour of this course. Amongst these 
was Miltiades, the ruler of the Thracian Chersonese, and 
afterwards the hero of Marathon. Had his counsel prevailed 
the attack upon Greece would have been nipped in the bud, 
the Persian empire would probably have broken up, there 



164 MBDES AND PEESIANS 

would have been no Marathon and no Thermopylae. But others, 
especially Histiaeus, the ruler of Miletus, opposed Miltiades, and 
Darius was permitted to recross the Danube in safety. He 
returned to Asia with the bulk of his army, but left Megabazus 
with 80,000 men in Thrace to complete its conquest and 
do whatever else seemed advisable in the imperial interest. 
Megabazus was more successful than could have been ex- 
pected, for he not only subdued Thrace, and captured several 
Greek cities in that quarter, but also obtained the submission 
of Amyntas, the king of Macedonia. Thus by great good 
fortune Darius escaped disaster and achieved his object, for 
Persian suzerainty was acknowledged as far as the borders of 
Thessaly, and now only the apparently-insignificant province 
of Greece lay between him and universal empire. Neverthe- 
less Darius had no very pleasant recollections of his Scythian 
expedition, and might have left Greece alone, had the Greeks 
left him alone. 

The Asiatic Greeks, who were under the double yoke of 
domestic despots and Persian rule, were extremely restless 
after the Scythian expedition, realising that it could not have 
been undertaken without their help, and must have ended in 
disaster but for their forbearance, so that very little was needed 
to induce the cities to rebel. At last the signal came from 
Miletus. Histiseus, who had been despot there, and whose 
influence had saved Darius, had been removed to Susa, his 
place being filled by Aristagoras his son-in-law. Aristagoras, 
anxious to distinguish himself, persuaded the Persians to 
attack Naxos, where civil war was raging, thinking to find it 
an easy prey, but through a quarrel between himself and the 
Persian admiral the attack failed, whereupon, angry, discredited, 
and tempted by a message from Histiseus, he revolted. The 
revolt of Miletus was quickly followed by the other cities of 
the Asiatic Greeks, nearly every town declaring war upon 
Persia. Aristagoras crossed to Europe to seek aid from the 
Greeks there. Sparta refused, but the Athenians sent twenty 
ships, to which the Eretrians added five. 



DAEIUS THE GEEAT 165 

The tiny squadron crossed to Ephesus and landed its 
troops, and, when these were joined by levies from the ad- 
jacent towns, a sudden attack was made upon Sardis, the 
capital of Asia Minor, and in the surprise of the first assault 
the satrap was driven into the citadel, and the town sacked 
and burnt. This was a grave mistake, as the town was 
Lydian, and the Lydians suffered more than the Persians by 
its destruction. Enraged at their losses and especially at the 
destruction of their famous temple, the Lydians united with 
the Persians and chased the invaders, who were comparatively 
few in number, back to their ships with considerable loss ; 499. 
whereupon the Athenian and Eretrian contingents, disgusted 
with the mismanagement of the affair, sailed home, leaving the 
Asiatic Greeks to pay the penalty of their rashness. The 
news that Sardis had been burnt spread quickly and increased 
the area of the revolt, and, when Darius heard of it, it exas- 
perated him to such an extent that he determined to take 
vengeance not only on the Asiatic Greeks but also upon 
Athens and Eretria. The Asiatic revolt was crushed without 
mercy, yet so widely had it spread that five years elapsed 
before the war was quite ended. At last all the cities had 
either submitted or been captured, most of them had been 
sacked, and Miletus had been burnt, so that the resistance col- 
lapsed and Darius was in a position to deal with Athens and 
Eretria, whose share in the destruction of Sardis he had neither 
forgotten nor forgiven. An expedition was accordingly 
prepared for the punishment of the European Greeks, and 492. 
Mardonius, the son-in-law of Darius, received command and 
invaded Europe by way of Thrace and Macedonia, whilst a 
powerful fleet coasted in his support. At first all went well, 
but on rounding the stormy peninsula of Athos the fleet met 
with a hurricane in which 300 ships and 20,000 men were 
lost ; while by a night attack of the Thracians the land army 
suffered heavily. These successive disasters discouraged the 
soldiers, and Mardonius thought it wiser to return to Asia. 
But the failure did not cause Darius to swerve from his 



166 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

purpose. A fresh army was collected, and in two years he was 
ready to try the fortune of war once more. 
490. The new expedition was placed under the command of 

Datis and Artaphernes, who, warned by the fate of Mardonius, 
avoided the stormy northern route and sailed straight across 
the ^Egean. The fleet touched first at Naxos, and, when the 
• terrified islanders fled to the mountains, their city was burnt. 
Thence the Persians crossed to Eretria, the chief city of Eubcea, 
and the inhabitants, knowing that they need expect no mercy, 
shut themselves up in the city and prepared for a desperate 
resistance. But after six days they were betrayed by traitors 
within ; the gates were opened, and the citizens carried in 
chains on board the fleet. 

Athens had now to be reckoned with, and the fleet, guided by 
Hippias, the old despot of that city, crossed to Attica and landed 
the troops on the plain of Marathon, whence it was but twenty 
miles march to Athens. As soon as the Athenians heard of 
the fall of Eretria they sent a swift runner to Sparta to entreat 
help, but, the summons reaching the Spartans on the eve of 
a festival, they delayed so long that the Athenians had to face 
the enemy alone, and as they only mustered 10,000 heavily- 
armed troops, whilst the Persians were little short of 100,000, 
the odds seemed terribly against them. Nevertheless they 
determined to fight at once, and, having chosen Miltiades 
as their general, they charged the Orientals with desperate 
courage. The Persians had not expected a battle, and had 
barely time to form when the Athenians were upon them 
with so furious an onslaught that they were routed and 
driven to their ships with great slaughter. A few vessels 
were captured but the rest escaped and sailed quickly for 
Athens, hoping to reach it before its defenders could return. 
The Athenians, however, hurrying across the mountains, got 
there first, and when the Persians saw them on the beach, 
fearing to face the victors, they sailed back to Asia. 

Though Darius had thus been foiled in his efforts against 
the Greeks a second time, he found it hard to believe that 



DAEIUS THE GEEAT 167 

Greece was stronger than Persia, and he resolved upon a third 
expedition to be planned on a scale of unexampled magnitude. 
But just then Egypt revolted, and he was on his way to 
reconquer it when he died, having reigned thirty-six years. 486. 
Darius was a monarch of no ordinary type. As Cyrus and 
Cambyses were Elamites, he may justly be considered the 
founder of the Persian Empire, but in any case he was its 
saviour, for at his accession the empire of Cyrus was on the 
eve of dissolution. By a display of extraordinary energy 
Darius saved it, and organised the government so well that, 
although he was followed by a succession of feeble monarchs, 
the empire was preserved, almost in its entirety, for one 
hundred and fifty years. 



CHAPTER V. 

A-ERa.ES. 

486. Darius was succeeded by Xerxes, his son by Atossa, a lineal 
descendant of Cyrus. Apparently Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of 
Scripture, was of a pacific disposition and would gladly have 
given up the proposed expedition against Greece, and con- 
tented himself with the reconquest of Egypt. But this did 
not suit the war party at Susa ; and besides Persians like 
Mardonius, who pressed the king to wipe out the memory of 
past disasters, there were probably many Greek traitors at 
court who hoped to profit by the subversion of their country and 
so led him to underrate the difficulties he would have to face. 

Before the invasion of Greece could be attempted, Xerxes 
had to quell the Egyptian revolt, but this did not prove a 
very serious affair, and soon his hands were free for the more 
important enterprise. A graphic description of the prelimi- 

483. nary conferences with the various satraps and governors is 
given in Esther. There were 127 provinces represented, and, 
as the officials had to come long distances, it took six months to 
interview them all and to instruct each definitely as to the part 
he was to play in the expedition. At length all was arranged, 
every camping-place was settled, stores of provisions were ac- 
cumulated, a double bridge of boats constructed over the 
Hellespont, and a canal cut through the Athos promontory 
in order that the fleet might not have to weather the danger- 
ous cape. An enormous fleet was gathered from Egypt, 
Phoenicia, Cyprus and the coast towns of Asia, and an army 

480. of certainly not less than 1,000,000 set out from Sardis in the 

spring and crossed the Hellespont. 

(168) 



XEEXES 169 

The march through Thrace and Macedonia was unevent- 
ful, for these states had acknowledged Persian suzerainty and 
in any case dared not oppose so huge an army. As soon as it 
was known that Xerxes had crossed the Hellespont the Greeks 
met in conference and determined that a stand should be made 
at Tempe, the pass from Macedonia into Thessaly ; but when 
they found that Xerxes intended to use also other passes by 
which he could turn the position, the generals determined to 
fall back upon Thermopylae which was more easily defensible. 
Thus Thessaly was abandoned to the enemy, with the result 
that the Thessalians yielded, sending earth and water to 
Xerxes. 

Leonidas, one of the Spartan kings, who was in command, 
had under him a force gathered from various parts of Greece 
and numbering in all about 10,000 men, a force which might 
have been much greater but that the Spartans selfishly 
refrained from giving him adequate help. An oracle had 
declared that " either Sparta or a Spartan king must perish," 
and the Spartans tried the experiment of sacrificing their king 
to begin with. 

The men with Leonidas were sufficient for the defence of 
the pass itself, and for two days the battle raged, the Persians 
making no progress. At length Xerxes, learning that there 
was a mountain path by which the position might be turned, 
sent a picked force to take the defenders in the rear. Leonidas 
also knew of the path and had entrusted the guarding of it to 
the Phocians, but these basely fled on the first attack and 
Leonidas saw that his position was no longer tenable. About 
half the Grecian troops retired, while the Spartans, in accord- 
ance with their conception of duty, died at their post. By the 
capture of Thermopylae the road to the south was now open to 
Xerxes, and, passing rapidly along, sacking and destroying as 
he went, he reached Athens. The Athenians, despairing of 
being able to defend their city against the Persian horde, 
evacuated it, removing their people to Salamis and Pelopon- 
nesus, and Xerxes, entering the city in triumph, ordered it to 



170 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

be burnt to the ground. The whole of Northern Greece was 
now at his mercy, and, as only a short march lay between him 
and Peloponnesus, there seemed no hope, and a general panic 
was imminent. 

Fortunately Themistocles, the Athenian leader, never lost 
courage. When Xerxes passed Thermopylae he saw that Attica 
was lost, and it was at his instigation that the Athenians had 
abandoned their city. He now perceived that the best hope 
of the Greeks lay in so crippling the Persian fleet that it 
would be forced to retire. Aided by his fleet Xerxes could 
easily turn the defences of the isthmus at Peloponnesus, but 
the experience of Thermopylae showed Themistocles that 
without it the Persian land forces were not greatly to be 
feared. Accordingly he used every effort to bring about a 
decisive sea battle. 

Up to this time the fleets had not been idle, and in the 
encounters the Greeks had been successful, but, when the pass 
of Thermopylae was turned, their fleet sailed southward and 
was now lying in the narrows between Salamis and Attica, 
whilst the Persian fleet lay a few miles off in the bay of 
Phalerum. A large portion of the Greek fleet was Athenian, 
much of the rest was Peloponnesian, and the Peloponnesian 
captains, alarmed at the proximity of the Persian forces to 
the isthmus, would have sailed home but for a stratagem of 
Themistocles. Knowing that their only hope lay in an im- 
mediate engagement, ana perceiving that the narrowness of 
the strait was to their advantage, he sent a messenger to 
Xerxes to tell him that the Greeks were quarrelling amongst 
themselves and would escape him if he did not act at once. 
Xerxes took the hint and during the night so closed the straits 
that the Greeks had no option but to fight. Accordingly fight 
they did, and to some purpose. The superior numbers of the 
Persians gave them no advantage in so confined a space, but 
rather increased their confusion, and, although they fought well, 
before night they were hopelessly beaten. Two hundred ships 
were sunk and the sea was covered with wrecks and drowning 




XERXES 171 

men. Xerxes had been a spectator of the battle throughout, 
and, deeply chagrined and having utterly lost his self-confidence, 
he began to fear for his personal safety, and spoke of re burn- 
ing to Asia. His departure was hastened by another message 
from the astute Themistocles, advising him to return before the 
Greeks had a chance of destroying his bridge over the Helles- 
pont. As a matter of fact the bridge had already been destroyed 
by a storm, but neither Themistocles nor Xerxes was aware of 
this, and the latter made for home, leaving Mardonius with 
300,000 picked troops to retrieve the Persian disasters if he 
could. After much suffering the army reached Asia, and was 
ferried across the Hellespont, after which the bitterly disap- 
pointed king retired to Sardis from which eight months before 
he had departed in such high hope. 

There was still a chance that Mardonius would mend 
matters. He had the best of the troops and could still out- 
number in the proportion of three to one any force the Greeks 
were likely to place in the field. Accordingly he wintered in 
Thessaly and marched southward in the spring. The Spartans 479 
again held selfishly aloof, and the Athenians found it once 
more necessary to evacuate their city, but when they threatened 
to make terms with the Persians and leave Sparta to her fate, 
the Spartans changed their minds and sent an army of con- 
siderable strength under Pausanias. On perceiving the changed 
aspect of affairs Mardonius fell back on a strong position at 
Platsea, and the Greeks, 100,000 in all, encamped opposite. 
The battle which followed was a fair test of the quality of the 
respective forces. There was no generalship worthy of the 
name on either side, but both Persians and Greeks fought 
with desperate valour. At length the discipline, the better 
weapons, and the physical strength of the European troops 
told and the Persians were utterly routed. The carnage was 
terrible. Artabazus, the uncle of Xerxes and colleague of 
Mardonius, drew off 40,000 men in good order, and, speeding 
quickly round the coast, reached the Hellespont before the wild 
tribes of Thrace had news of the disaster. Mardonius and the 



172 MEDBS AND PEESIANS 

rest were slain, and enormous quantities of spoil fell into the 
hands of the Greeks. Nor was this all, for another battle of 
great importance was fought on the other side of the JEgean, it 
is said on the very day of the battle of Platsea. A fleet had 
been collected at iEgina and sent across to watch the Persian 
fleet and prevent it crossing to help Mardonius. The Greeks 
found the Persian fleet drawn up on shore at Mycale, protected 
by a considerable army, but without a moment's hesita- 
tion they landed and attacked them. The battle was fierce, 
but it ended in the complete defeat of the Persians and the 
destruction of their fleet. Encouraged by this, the Asiatic 
Greeks openly rebelled, and Xerxes, leaving Sardis where he 
was now scarcely safe, returned to Susa, having lost his army, 
his hold upon Europe, and the larger part of one of his best 
Asiatic provinces. 

Xerxes lived for fourteen years after Plateea, but did not 
achieve anything worthy of record. Some of the incidents of 
this portion of his life are related in Esther. The quarrel 
with his wife Amestris, the Vashti of Esther, took place before 
the invasion of Greece, during the festivities which preceded 
it. The choice of Esther (whose real name was Hadassah, the 
other name being synonymous with Istar or Venus and pro- 
bably given on account of her beauty) occurred about six 
years later, after Xerxes had returned from his disastrous 
expedition. A conspiracy had been formed against him which 
was detected by Mordecai, whose relationship to Esther was 
not generally known. The incidents in connection with 
Haman, followed and need not be repeated here. The Jews 
had not received any favour from Xerxes. During the reign 
of his energetic and strong-willed father they had been pro- 
tected, but Xerxes was weak and easily persuaded by their 
enemies to discourage them, so that the rebuilding of Jerusalem 
came to a standstill during the twenty years of his reign. 
Haman therefore had little difficulty in persuading him to 
barter away their lives, the king scarcely realising what he 
had promised. The devotion of Esther and her uncle were, 



XERXES 173 

however, a match for the wicked courtier, and, though the 
edicts issued could not be withdrawn, others were sent out 
permitting the Jews to stand upon the defensive, and the 
Persian officials being now on their side, the tables were 
turned upon their enemies. Xerxes did not reign long after 
these events. A second conspiracy was more successful than 
the first, and he was assassinated by two of the palace 
officials, instigated, some think, by Amestris, his first wife. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LOSS OP SUPREMACY. 

465. Xerxes was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus). 

Early in his reign Egypt revolted under Inarus, and this 

rebellion was the more serious as the Athenians took part 

in it, sending two expeditions to the help of the Egyptians. 

Matters looked serious for Persia, but Artaxerxes made a su- 

454. preme effort and at last Megabyzus crushed the revolt. The 
Athenians were cut to pieces, only a handful of fugitives 
escaping to Cyrene whence they carried the news of the 
disaster to Athens. 

449. Greatly galled by their failure in Egypt, the Athenians 

sent an expedition against Cyprus, which still acknowledged 
Persian suzerainty. The warlike Cimon commanded the 
expedition, and it was successful, destroying the Persian fleet 
off the town of Salamis, and then landing and defeating their 
army on the shore. But Cimon fell ill and died, and the 
expedition returned to Athens; and as both the Greeks and 
Persians had now wearied of fighting, an understanding was 

449. come to called the Peace of Callias, by which they tacitly 

undertook to let one another alone. 

An inscription of Artaxerxes has come down to us in 

which he praises his god Ormuzd, the Persian conception of 

the creator. 

" A great god is Ormuzd, who created the heaven, who 

created the earth, who created man, who has given blessings 

to men, who made Artaxerxes king, sole king of many kings, 

sole ruler of many rulers. .' . . 

" In the shadow of Ormuzd I have finished this house 

(174) 




LOSS OF SUPEEMAOY 175 

which my father began. May Ormuzd protect me and my 
work, and my sovereignty and my lands." 

Artaxerxes I. showed much kindness to the Jews, and 
was the patron of Ezra and Nehemiah. During the reign of 
Xerxes the building of the walls of Jerusalem had been sus- 
pended, but Artaxerxes sent Ezra to Jerusalem with as many 458. 
priests, Levites and others as cared to accompany him, 
and added so many valuable gifts that Ezra broke forth 
into thanks to God for having made his heart so generous. 
Thirteen years later he allowed Nehemiah, his cupbearer, to 445. 
go up, appointing him Governor of Judaea. The fact that the 
Persian Empire was waning is shown by the difficulties which 
surrounded Nehemiah in spite of the favour and decrees of 
the king, for he found it necessary to guard continually the 
lives of the men who were at work. The growing weakness 
of the central authority was further shown by the revolt of 
Megabyzus, the satrap of Syria, who was so successful in his 
defiance of authority that Artaxerxes had to agree to his 
terms and condone his rebellion — a state of things which 
would have been impossible under the rule of kings like 
Cyrus or Darius. 

Artaxerxes I. died after a reign of forty years. He was 425. 
estimable in some ways, but weak, and he left a disordered 
court and an empire in which the signs of decay were showing 
themselves clearly. He had been kind to the Jews, and it was 
mainly because of his patronage that they became established, 
for none of his successors showed them like favour. 

Artaxerxes' son reigned as Xerxes II. for two months, and 
was then assassinated by his brother Sogdianus, who, seven 
months later, was also put to death. 

Darius II. (Nothus), a third brother, now ascended the 424. 
throne, and married Parysatis the daughter of Artaxerxes 
I., by whom he had two sons, Artaxerxes and Cyrus, immor- 
talised by Xenophon in the Anabasis. Darius Nothus was 
a man of feeble character, and allowed the power to fall into 
the hands of Parysatis who used assassination as her chief aid 



176 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

in administration. There were many rebellions during her 
reign, the most important being in Lydia. Tissaphernes 
quelled this, and for his services was made satrap of the 
province, in which capacity and in conjunction with Pharna- 
bazus, the neighbouring satrap, he inaugurated a new policy 
in dealing with the Grecian states. The wily satraps found 
that notwithstanding their patriotism Greeks had their price, 
and that Persian gold was a more formidable weapon than the 
Persian sword, and they used their knowledge to the ruin of 
Greece, ceasing to war upon the states, but subsidising the 
states to war upon each other. The Persians also began to 
employ Greek mercenaries freely in their service, and their 
armies and fleets were often almost as much Greek as Persian. 
404. Darius was succeeded by his eldest son Artaxerxes II. 

(Mnemon). Artaxerxes had been born before Darius ascended 
the throne, and, partly on this pretext, Parysatis had en- 
deavoured to obtain the crown for her younger and favourite 
son Cyrus. This prince had been made governor of Western 
Asia by his father, and had used his power against Athens 
with fatal effect. When his father died, leaving the crown 
to Artaxerxes, Cyrus determined to supplant him. At 
first he tried assassination, but the plot failed and Cyrus' 
life was only spared because of the earnest intercession of his 
mother. He was allowed to return to his satrapy, and repaid 
his brother's forbearance by immediately organising an ex- 
pedition against him. 

The Peloponnesian war had just ended with the submission 
of Athens, and many Greek soldiers of fortune being now idle, 
Cyrus, who knew their value, employed agents to enlist 
likely ones in his service. The better to cloak his designs he pre- 
tended that he meant to make war upon a neighbouring satrap, 
though whether upon Tissaphernes or the Pisidians was not 
quite clear. Tissaphernes, however, guessed the truth and 
warned Artaxerxes, who made his arrangements accordingly. 

At length Cyrus, having gathered 13,000 Greeks and 
100,000 native troops, set out on his march to Babylon. 



LOSS OF SUPEEMACY 177 

Clearchus, the Greek general, knew, and the leading Greek 
officers must have known, what Cyrus' purpose was, but the 
rank and file were kept in ignorance as long as possible, 
and, when at last they learned the truth, a little judicious 
liberality reconciled them to the project. 

The march of the army was unopposed until they came to 
Cunaxa, 60 miles from Babylon. There were places on the 
route which might have been made impregnable, notably the 
gates of Cilicia and the gates of Syria, but the prince of 
Cilicia favoured Cyrus, and the satrap of Syria offered no 
resistance. At last when the troops were marching in 401. 
easy fashion, their arms piled on the wagons, a swift horse- 
man brought intelligence of the approach of the army of 
Artaxerxes. So vast was it that it spread for miles over the 
plain, outnumbering that of Cyrus ten times. Nevertheless 
it could have been beaten by good generalship. At the onset 
of the Greeks 4he Persian left wing fled without striking a 
blow ; and had the Greeks kept themselves under control, and 
wheeling, taken the army of Artaxerxes in flank, success would 
have been certain ; but they chased the beaten Persians for 
miles, and returned to find the native part of their army de- 
feated and Cyrus slain. 

The position of the Greeks was now exceedingly perilous. 
The Asiatic portion of Cyrus' army solved the problem by 
going over to the enemy, but the Greeks could not do that 
with safety. At length, after profound anxiety and the loss 
of their leaders by treachery, they elected new generals and 
began their famous retreat, marching northward to the Black 
Sea. This retreat was accomplished in the face of unparalleled 
difficulties, yet when the force arrived in Europe its numbers 
were not seriously diminished. The extraordinary adventures 
of the 10,000 were talked about everywhere, and dispelled 
many illusions which had existed concerning the solidarity of 
the Persian Empire. It was felt that, if a detachment of Greeks 
could ,thus beard the king at the gates of Babylon and there- 
after reach home in safety, the greatly-dreaded empire must 

12 



178 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

after all be a hollow affair. The troubles of the 10,000 did 
not end with their return, for their fellow-Greeks looked 
askance on so compact a body of free lances ; but, fortunately 
for them, war broke out between Sparta and Persia, and Thim- 
bron, the Spartan general, gladly availed himself of their 
services and merged them in his army. 






CHAPTER VII. 

REBELLION. 

Thimbron the Spartan achieved nothing of consequence against 
Persia, and was superseded by Dercyllidas who was somewhat 
more successful. Agesilaus, king of Sparta, then himself took 399. 
over the command in Asia, and made such headway that 
Artaxerxes ordered Tissaphernes to be executed, and sent an- 
other satrap in his place. Tithraustes, the new governor, was 
at first as unfortunate as his predecessor, and Western Asia 
seemed to be slipping from the grasp of Persia, when the satrap 
determined to try once more the power of Persian gold. A 
Rhodian named Timocrates was accordingly sent across to stir 
up against Sparta such states as did not favour her supremacy. 
The result of these intrigues was that in a short time Sparta, 
in extremity, had to recall Agesilaus, and abandon operations 
which otherwise might have ended in the conquest of Asia 
Minor. The departure of Agesilaus was followed by the naval 394. 
battle of Cnidus with which all hope of Spartan dominion in 
Asia passed away. Matters also turned out badly for the 
Spartans in Europe, and they were now so anxious to bring 
the war to a close that negotiations were begun and a general 
peace arranged known as " the Peace of Antalcidas ". By this 387. 
peace the Asiatic cities, which had been free ever since the 
failure of Xerxes, were once more surrendered to Persia, and 
the king of Persia was practically recognised as arbiter of the 
Grecian states. 

It suited Persia to be at peace with the Greeks for a time, 
as several of her provinces were giving trouble, and she could 

now, not only turn her attention to these, but have the help of 

(179) 



180 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

Greek mercenaries in dealing with them. The most formid- 
able rebellion was in Cyprus, where Evagoras, king of Salamis, 
was so successful, that he even carried his arms to the mainland 
and conquered Tyre. After the Peace of Antalcidas, Artaxerxes 
made a great effort and completely defeated him, but per- 
mitted him to retain his crown. 

The Cadusians whose territories lay near the Caspian were 
next attacked with an army estimated at 300,000 men. 
They were brave people and Artaxerxes, who commanded 
in person, was reduced to great straits, and was only saved 
from defeat and enabled to make a satisfactory peace by 
Tribazus his deputy. The Cadusians were in two armies and 
Tribazus persuaded each leader that the other was about to 
make peace on his own behalf, the result being that both 
made submission. 

There remained Egypt, which had been independent since 
375. the reign of Darius Nothus. Determined to win it back, 
Artaxerxes obtained the services of Iphicrates, an Athenian 
general, and sent him with Pharnabazus, a Persian, against 
the Egyptians. The generals landed successfully in the Delta, 
and could have easily conquered Egypt had Pharnabazus pos- 
sessed ordinary energy, but he procrastinated until the Nile 
rose and the season for military operations passed, after which 
the generals evacuated Egypt with mutual recriminations. 

During the remaining years of Artaxerxes II. his interven- 
tion was asked by Sparta, Thebes, and Athens, so that by com- 
mon consent they recognised him as arbitrator, if not actually 
suzerain. His last years were made bitter by revolts amongst 
his satraps, and by heart-breaking domestic trouble. He 
seems to have been a well-meaning man, but to have had little 
strength of will, and unscrupulous relatives took advantage of 
his weakness. Before he died he had seen his favourite wife 
poisoned, two of his sons assassinated, and a third driven to 
commit suicide. He reigned forty-six years and is said to 
have been ninety-four years of age when he died. 
359. Ochus succeeded his father, reigning as Artaxerxes III., 



EEBELLION 181 

and proving a brutal and bloodthirsty king. He obtained the 
crown by assassination, and began his career by slaying all of 
the blood-royal likely to dispute his position, after which he 
set himself to the task of government. 

His first efforts were devoted to the reconquest of Egypt, 
now independent for half a century. Marching in person at 
the head of a vast army, he attacked Nectanebo, but the 
Egyptian king obtained the help of Greek generals and 
defeated him in the field. The success of the Egyptians 
encouraged other provinces to revolt, and Phoenicia and Cyprus 
declared themselves independent. Ochus sent his satraps 
against the rebels, but they were defeated by the king of 
Sidon, who was aided by Greek mercenaries commanded by 
Mentor a Rhodian. For the moment the Persians were driven 
out of Phoenicia, but Ochus afterwards advanced at the head of 
so vast an army that the Sidonian king lost courage, and in 
hope of making terms for himself, treacherously admitted him 
within the defences of the town. The Sidonians sued for 
mercy, but, when they saw with what barbarity their suppli- 
ants were treated, they shut themselves up in their houses and 
set the city on fire. Forty thousand persons perished in the 
conflagration. 

With his victorious army strengthened by the addition of 
Greek mercenaries, Ochus again invaded Egypt. The Egyp- 
tian army was greatly inferior, nevertheless Nectanebo 
might have made a prolonged resistance ; but, after the first 
reverse, he retreated to Memphis, and, when Ochus again 
approached, fled southward to Ethiopia. Ochus marched 
through the country in triumph, destroying cities and 
plundering temples, and at last taking back with him to 
Persia enormous booty. His success in Egypt was largely 
due to the genius of his two generals, Mentor and Bagoas, 
and these were promoted to places of high importance, 
the former obtaining charge of the Asiatic seaboard, whilst 
the latter accompanied the king to the capital and became 
chief administrator of the internal affairs of the empire. 



182 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

Mentor and Bagoas were men of undoubted capacity and 
did their work so well that the last years of Artaxerxes 
III. were vigorous and successful, and it seemed as if the 
Persian Empire was about to recover its former glory. But 
the barbarity of the king made him hateful to his subjects, 

338. and Bagoas at last, perhaps fearing evil to himself, had him 
poisoned. 

Bagoas then put Arses, the youngest son of Ochus, on the 
throne, but, as he proved too independent, he was assassinated 
in his turn, his children also being slain. Bagoas then put a 

336. personal friend, Darius Codomannus, upon the throne, who 
was of the blood-royal, though not in the direct line. The year 
which saw Darius III. ascend the throne saw the assassination 
of Philip of Macedon and the accession of Alexander the Great. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

COLLAPSE. 

Although Philip of Macedon was but forty-seven years of 
age at his death, he had raised Macedonia from insignifi- 
cance to empire, and had two years before, by the victory of 
Chseroneia, placed himself at the head of Greece. In this 338. 
capacity he had called a congress at Corinth and declared 
his intention of invading Asia ; and the Greeks, perhaps 
hoping that he would ^aever come back, voted him supplies 
with some alacrity. The Persians had long been aware 
of the storm that Was brewing, but, when news came that 
Philip was assassinated, and that a youth of twenty years 336. 
had succeeded to the throne of Macedonia, they thought 
the danger had gone by. Darius therefore, ascending the 
throne just before the death of Philip, must have experienced 
a feeling of profound relief at that event, and doubtless 
suspended the military preparations which were in progress. 
But the extraordinary success of Alexander in Thrace, Illyria 
and Bceotia, speedily undeceived the Persians, and the pre- 
parations were hastily resumed. A fleet was prepared, rein- 
forcements were sent to Asia Minor ; and Memnon, the brother 
of Mentor, an able general, was dispatched to the Hellespont 
to command the Greek mercenaries. 

Memnon was at first successful in his operations against 
Parmenio and Callas, Macedonian leaders who had been sent 
across by Philip before his death. This success, however, proved 
rather a curse than a blessing, for it led the satraps to under- 
value the Macedonians, and to think that the expedition which 

was about to cross under Alexander was no whit more serious 

(183) 



184 MEDES AND PERSIANS 

than expeditions which had crossed before and done no great 
harm. Accordingly the fatal mistake was made of permitting 
Alexander's army, consisting of 30,000 foot and 5,000 horse to 
cross the Hellespont unopposed, although the Persian fleet was 
more formidable than anything the Macedonian could have 
brought against it. 

334. The initial mistake having been made of allowing so 

powerful an enemy to enter the empire, Memnon, who alone 
realised the serious nature of the situation, advised the satraps 
to avoid a pitched battle and fall back before the Macedonians, 
laying waste the country as they retired; but the Persians 
refused to listen to this advice, and took up a position on the 
river Granicus, determining to dispute the ford. They did 
their best and their Greek mercenaries fought with desperation, 
but the long spears of the Macedonian phalanx bore down all 
opposition and soon the Persian forces were in full flight. 
Their loss was enormous, and this battle made Alexander 
master in Asia Minor, for, though certain cities stood out 
bravely, after one or two sieges the rest quickly capitulated. 
Still there was a hope for the Persians, for Memnon held the 
sea and might raise trouble for Alexander in Europe and thus 

333, compel him to return. Unfortunately for Darius, Memnon 
died, and with his life departed any chance the Persians might 
have had of ultimate victory. All idea of stirring up dis- 
affection against Alexander in Europe, or of holding, possession 
of the i^Egean, or even of obstructing the march of the con- 
queror by defending the passes, was given up, and Darius 
resolved to stake his all upon a pitched battle in the open 
field. 

The Persian monarch accordingly gathered a great army 
at Babylon, including about 600,000 Persian troops, and 30,000 
Greek mercenaries. Had Darius known how to manage his 
army he might have given Alexander trouble enough, but his 
generalship proved beneath contempt. The army marched up 
the Euphrates, meaning to fight in the plains of Northern 
Syria where so great a force of cavalry and infantry might 






COLLAPSE 185 

have deployed advantageously. But as Alexander, marching 
eastward, drew near the enemy, he heard to his astonishment 
and delight that Darius had shifted his camp and gathered his 
huge army into a narrow defile at Issus, where it would be 
impossible for one half of his forces even to see the battle- 
The result was what might have been expected. The native 
Persians and Greek mercenaries fought well enough, but the 
superior weapons, discipline and determination of the Mace- 
donians triumphed and the Persians fled. The great host, 
entangled in the narrow valley,* lost terribly, and the camp 
with its treasure and the family of Darius fell into the 
conqueror's hands. 

Alexander had now to choose whether he would pursue 
Darius eastward or first thoroughly subdue the sea-coast, for 
though he had mastered Asia Minor, Darius was still acknow- 
ledged as suzerain by Phoenicia, Philistia and Egypt. The 
simpler way seemed to be to follow the king and strike at the 
heart of the empire, but Alexander now knew that Darius was 
not formidable in the field. If he chose to raise another army 
Alexander could prepare for it at his leisure. What he had 
rather to fear was that Darius might, through the coast towns, 
keep up communication with Southern Greece, and perhaps 
by a free use of the money of which he had such store, stir up 
the states to revolt. This was a real danger, and Alexander 
felt that it was better not to plunge into the heart of the 
Persian Empire until he had provided against it. 

Accordingly the Macedonians marched southward along 
the sea-coast into Phoenicia. Most of the cities of that 
quarter, Sidon. Byblus and the rest, opened their gates 
without question, but Tyre, whilst willing to pay homage, 
refused to admit Alexander within its walls, and he, ex- 
asperated at the refusal, besieged it. As he had no fleet and 
Tyre stood on an island, he determined to construct a mole 
from the mainland, but for a long time this work was carried 
on with much difficulty. At last he gathered a fleet and drove 
the Tyrians back into their harbour, after which the mole was 



186 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

soon completed. The Tyrians, however, fought to the last 
with desperate courage, and it was seven months before the 
city fell. 
332. The fall of Tyre so discouraged the partisans of Persia 

that Gaza was the only other city that dared to resist. Here 
Batis, the brave governor, fought for three months, and so 
maddened Alexander by his courage that, when at last he 
made him a prisoner, he dragged him behind his chariot, 
galloping at full speed, until the corpse was battered to pieces. 

Whilst these sieges were in progress ambassadors arrived 
from Darius offering terms of peace. The humbled king was 
willing to pay a heavy ransom, to give Alexander his daughter 
in marriage, and to bestow as her dowry such part of his 
empire as lay west of the Euphrates. But this proposal was 
contemptuously refused, and Darius had no alternative but 
either to deliver himself up as a prisoner, or try once more 
the fortune of battle. He decided on the latter alternative, 
and, as his troops were hampered at Issus owing to the 
nature of the ground, he gathered a fresh army on a broad 
and level plain at Arbela, not far from the site of Nineveh. 

Meanwhile Alexander had reached Egypt and been received 
with acclamation, for the Egyptians detested the Persian rule, 
and hailed him as a deliverer. The Jews also paid Alexander 
homage, and there is a not improbable tradition that he 
visited Jerusalem and sacrificed in the temple. During his 
residence in Egypt he founded the city of Alexandria, and 
made a pilgrimage to the famous temple of Jupiter Amon, 
which stood on an oasis five days' march into the desert. 
331. At length, the sea-board being completely mastered, and 

there being now no hostile fleet on the iEgean, Alexander 
advanced to seek Darius. After crossing the Euphrates and 
Tigris he found the great army with which he had to cope 
awaiting him at a place called Gaugamela near Arbela. 
Alexander had but 50,000 troops and Darius had nearly a 
1,000,000 — twenty-five nations fighting under his standard. 
The field of battle was on this occasion well selected, and 




COLLAPSE 187 

levelled by artificial means, so that it might be more available 
for cavalry. The Persians also fought well, but again the 
Macedonian phalanx was irresistible; Darius lost heart and 
fled, and the battle was over. 

With Arbela fell the Persian Empire. In three battles, at 
the Granicus, Issus and Arbela the Macedonians had met the 
most formidable forces that the Persians could gather against 
them in fair fight, and had chased them headlong from the 
field. No further effort was possible. Neither on sea nor on 
land could Darius any longer resist. After Arbela Alexander 
marched straight to Babylon, and the Babylonians, pleased like 
the Egyptians at the change of masters, strewed flowers on his 
way. Susa next yielded, and thSre and at Babylon immense 
treasure fell into the hands of Alexander. Whilst resting his 
army he reorganised the government, and examined into the 
condition of the provinces, appointing new satraps in some, 
and confirming in office others who seemed likely to obey him. 
He then marched into Persia proper, where a brave stand was 
made by Ariobarzanes, who held him in check at a pass 
known as "the Susian gates ". After five days the defenders 
were cut to pieces, but Ariobarzanes escaped to Persepolis and 
died there, fighting to the last. Alexander destroyed Persepolis, 
apparently for no other reason than that it was the ancient 
capital of Persia, and its destruction furnished an object lesson 
to the world that the rule of the Persian was at an end. 

Darius fled to the Median capital of Ecbatana, and thither 330. 
Alexander followed him. Thence eastward by the Caspian 
shore the wretched fugitive was hunted, until at last, 
worn out in body and broken in spirit, he refused to fly 
farther. His wild followers, despising his cowardice and 
desirous that he should not fall alive into the hands of Alex- 
ander, flung their javelins at him and fled, and, when the 
Macedonian came up shortly after, the last king of the royal 
Achsemenian line lay stiffening at his feet. 

Alexander had now gained the summit of his ambition. He 
was master of the Persian Empire and supreme in Western Asia 



188 MEDES AND PEESIANS 

and Eastern Europe. The rest of the story will be found in 
the history of the Macedonian Empire. Here it need only be 
said that after some years spent in pushing his conquests to 
the extremest limits of the Persian Empire, and perhaps even 
beyond, he returned to Susa, where he allowed himself relaxa- 
tion from toil. He spent the following year or two between 
Susa, Ecbatana and Babylon. Whether he had any idea of 
welding his European and Asiatic subjects into one empire or 
was simply enamoured with Asiatic luxury we cannot tell, 
but he adopted Oriental dress and habits, and encouraged his 
soldiers to follow his example. At last, whilst inquiring into 
the merits of proposed irrigation works in the vicinity of 
Babylon, he caught fever and died. 
323. He left no heir capable of succeeding him and his con- 

quests were divided amongst his generals, but with the death 
of Alexander the ancient history of the Persian Empire comes 
to an end. 






THE HEBREWS. 



THE HEBREWS. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL. 

In dealing with this most interesting and important race, 

there is difficulty in choosing a name in which there shall 

be no ambiguity. If we call them the " Jews," we seem to 

exclude the tribes specially known as Israelites, if we speak of 

the " Israelites," we seem to exclude the Jews. Perhaps the 

name of " Hebrews " gives rise to less confusion than any 

other. Yet there was originally nothing Israelitish or Jewish 

about the word Hebrew, which did not come from the 

name of a special ancestor as has been supposed, but simply 

meant " a dweller on the other side," or " a crosser of the 

river". The word occurs first in Genesis, where a fugitive 

from the raid of the kings in which Lot was captured came 

and told " Abram, the Hebrew ". Later, when Joseph in prison 

entreated the chief butler to befriend him, he said : " For 

indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews ". 

Whether at this time the word applied exclusively to the 

descendants of Abram or was a general term by which the 

Canaanites were known to the Egyptians we cannot say, but 

certainly its use became afterwards limited to the children of 

Abram, and it has been freely accepted by them. This 

contracted use of the name may be traced as far back as the 

Oppression, when the Egyptians speak of " the Hebrew 

women," and Pharaoh's daughter says of Moses, " This is 

one of the Hebrews' children". 

(191) 



192 THE HEBEEWS 

Abram, the progenitor of this great race, was a Baby- 
]onian, born in Ur, a city with which the ruins of Mugheir 
are now identified. The city was in early days the seat of a 
dynasty of kings who gained ascendency over Babylonia and 
carried their arms both east and west. They were not the 
first Babylonian kings who had invaded the west, for in 
earlier times Sargon, king of Accad, had left memorials of an 
expedition on the shores of the Mediterranean, and his son, 
Naram-Siu, had gone as far as the Sinaitic peninsula. Thus 
early, therefore, Babylonia and Canaan were associated, and 
when the Babylonian kings were powerful enough, they treated 
the petty kings of Palestine as vassals. Records which have 
come to light prove that there was much commercial inter- 
course between the countries, and that the Babylonian lan- 
guage and Babylonish customs were familiar to the Canaanites. 
Hence there was nothing strange about the migration of 
Abraxas family to Canaan, and we can understand the ease 
with which he fitted into his new surroundings. 

In the time of Abram, Ur was decaying. It had given 
place to Babylon and Babylon to Larsa, of which Eri-Aku was 
prince. In Babylonia, Khammurabi ruled, but both Larsa 
and Babylonia had been conquered by Kudur-Lagamar, king 
of Elam, and Eri-Aku and Khammurabi were his vassals. 

The patriarchal family which left Ur and went to Harran 
consisted of Terah, his sons, Abram and Nahor, and their 
wives, Sarai and Milcah, their nephew Lot, whose father had 
died in Ur, and others of less importance. Harran was a city 
on the northern Babylonian frontier in the district known as 
Padan Aram, and between it and Ur there was much affinity 
in customs and religion. After Terah's death, Nahor and his 
family remained in Harran, but Abram moved southward 
to Canaan accompanied by his nephew Lot, and their respec- 
tive households. There was a famine in Canaan shortly after 
their arrival, and they went down to Egypt for a time ; for as 
that country has the advantage of the Nile inundation, it is 
less dependent on local rainfall, and often has abundance when 



THE FATHEK OF THE FAITHFUL 193 

other countries are suffering: from drought. At this time Circa 

2000. 
Egypt was under the rule of the Asiatic invaders known as 

the Hyksos, kings of either Elamitic or Arabian origin. Their 

seat of government was just over the frontier, at Zoan, in the 

eastern corner of the Delta, so that Abram came into contact 

with the court ; and, being a rich sheikh of much the same race 

as themselves, he was well received. 

On their return from Egypt to Canaan, Abram and Lot 
parted company — the latter preferring to dwell in the prosper- 
ous but profligate cities of the Jordan valley, whilst Abram 
made his home at Mamre, near Hebron, and entered into 
friendly alliance with Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, neighbouring 
Amorite chiefs. Not long after the separation, the king of 
Elam and his vassals raided the west, conquered the petty 
kings on the shores of the Dead Sea, who had been his vassals 
but had revolted, and carried away many captives — Lot 
amongst the rest. Abram being told of it, hurriedly armed 
his retainers, and, joined by his Amorite allies, pursued the 
victorious invaders, attacked their rear guard by night, and 
recovered both prisoners and booty. This raid was long a 
puzzle to critics, but cuneiform inscriptions recently discovered 
enable us to identify the names as given in Genesis, Chedor- 
laomer, Amraphel, Arioch and Tidal, with Kudur-Lagamar, 
king of Elam ; Khammurabi, king of Babylon ; Eri-Aku, 
king of Larsa ; and Tudghula, king of the Kurdish tribes east 
of the Babylonian frontier. Shortly after this, Khammurabi 
rebelled, and defeated Kudur-Lagamar and Eri-Aku, making 
Babylonia independent of Elam, so that Abram 's successful 
sally may have led to the freedom of his fatherland. 

Returning victorious, Abram was met by Melchizedek, 

king of Salem. Tablets recently found at Tel el-Amarna in 

Egypt throw much light on this incident, and confirm the 

exactness of the Scripture narrative. Amongst these are 

letters from the king of Urusalim which show that the city 

was of much importance, and really the capital of Southern 

Palestine at a remote date. Some mystery has gathered 

13 



194 THE HEBEEWS 

round Melchizedek because of the illustrations drawn from 
his person in the sacred writings, but nothing mysterious 
need be inferred concerning him. He was king of Salem, 
and priest of the temple erected to " the most high god," the 
god of peace in that city. He had not inherited this dignity, 
and nothing is said about his parentage or after life ; he appears 
and disappears abruptly, having " neither beginning of days 
nor end of life". These circumstances fitted him for the 
illustration drawn by the apostle, but as regards himself 
there is no mystery. The expression " without father or 
mother," to signify one who had not succeeded to his position 
by hereditary right, was not unusual. In the Tel el-Amarna 
tablets the king of Urusalim, a successor of Melchizedek, 
says ' ' Neither my father nor my mother, but the arm of 
the mighty king " (that is, the god whose temple stood in 
Urusalim) "established me". Urusalim being a sacred city, 
it was entirely in accordance with Babylonian custom that 
Abram should pay tithes to its priest king, for there are 
many receipts for tithe amongst the Babylonian tablets 
which have been found, and thus by independent evidence 
the narrative in Genesis, long looked upon by critics as in- 
credible, is confirmed in its minutest detail. 

Notwithstanding the disasters which had overtaken Lot, 
he continued to dwell in the cities near the Dead Sea, and 
narrowly escaped being overwhelmed in their destruction. 
The method by which they were destroyed may have been 
more in accordance with natural law than has been generally 
supposed. The district abounded in naphtha springs, the 
' ' slime pits ' ' of which we read being excavations from which 
the naphtha shale was dug. Thus the soil must have been 
saturated with highly inflammable oil, and if a thunderstorm 
burst over the district and the lightning set the oil on fire, the 
cities would soon be in a blaze. Conflagrations of a similar 
nature are not unknown in modern times in the oil districts 
of America and Southern Russia. 

Just before the birth of Isaac, his son and heir, God pro- 



THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL 195 

mised Abram that great blessings would be conferred upon 
mankind through his seed, and in memory of the covenant 
changed his name to Abraham (father of a great multitude), 
and that of his wife to Sarah (princess). After this came the 
trial by which he was asked to sacrifice the son on whom his 
hopes depended. Isaac was now a lad, and must at the last 
have acquiesced in the proposed sacrifice, but the result showed 
that it was only God's purpose to demonstrate to all time the 
unswerving faith of the patriarch. At the critical moment 
the hand was stayed, and the will accepted for the deed. 

The death of Sarah led to the purchase of a burying 
place from the Hittites. In recent years many Babylonian 
contract tablets have been found, and the manner of the 
contract of sale as recorded in Genesis is in harmony with 
these. At a later period the procedure was altered, so that 
the description of the purchase of the field of Machpelah fixes 
it as pre-Mosaic. It is noteworthy, as showing how honourable 
men were in their dealings in that primitive age, that when 
Jacob died, two centuries later, his embalmed remains were 
carried to the same burial place, the rights of property having 
been respected all that time. 

Abraham, as was the custom, had several wives and 
many sons besides Isaac, and these scattering eastward 
became progenitors of tribes, some of whom even at the 
present day are proud to trace their origin to El-Khalil, " the 
friend " of God. 



CHAPTER II. 

JOSEPH. 

The life of Isaac was uneventful. He had by Rebecca twin 
sons Esau and Jacob, and the latter was chosen by God as 
the one through whom the promised blessings should descend. 
As the boys grew into men the wisdom of the choice became 
apparent, for Esau led a wandering desert life — becoming head 
of the Edomites, whilst Jacob became more thoughtful as he 
grew older, and better suited to be the progenitor of a settled 
people. 

In Jacob's early days his conduct was deceitful, and he 
was punished by having to flee from his father's house and 
live in exile. He went to Harran, where Nahor's branch of 
the family still dwelt, and there married his cousins Leah and 
Rachel. In partnership with his uncle Laban he prospered, 
and when at length he turned homeward he had great wealth 
and a numerous family. Although so many years had passed, 
he dreaded meeting his brother whom he had deceived, and 
was terrified when he heard that he was coming to meet him 
at the head of a formidable Edomite band. His terror drove 
him to God, his fears were calmed, and next day the brothers 
met in friendship. Many years after when the Israelites, 
marching towards Canaan, desired to cross the land of Edom, 
Moses referred to the relationship saying, "Thus saith thy 
brother Israel," and when the king of Edom refused peaceful 
passage the Israelites did not declare war upon him, but went 
by a round-about way. 

Jacob's sons were far from perfect, and some of them caused 

their father much sorrow. Joseph, Rachel's first-born, was an 

(196) 



JOSEPH 197 

exception, and was his father's favourite, but the ground of 
preference was spiritual affinity and nobility of character. 
His superiority made him hateful to his brethren, and they 
sold him to a caravan of merchants, who were proceeding to 
Egypt with their wares. 

The story of Joseph in Egypt is exquisite in every detail, 
and beautifully describes the Egyptian life of that period. It 
is not necessary to repeat the story here. We know how, 
under trying circumstances, Joseph gave proof of rectitude 
and capacity, and was promoted, first in his master's house 
and afterwards in prison. The amnesty on Pharaoh's birth- 
day and the release of his fellow-prisoner followed, and at last 
Joseph gained Pharaoh's favour by interpreting his dream. 
The shaving of Joseph before he could be admitted into 
Pharaoh's presence, the suddenness of his elevation, the throw- 
ing of the chain of gold around his neck, the running before 
his chariot crying, " The seer, the seer," the new name which 
he received, Zaphnath-paaneah, the name of his wife, Asenath, 
and of his father-in-law, Potiphera, are all suggestive of the 
Egypt of that time. 

Pharaoh's dream had foretold seven years of plenty to be 
followed by seven of famine, and Joseph, as his representative, 
utilised the years of plenty by storing corn to be sold to the 
people when the famine came. His methods have been criti- 
cised, and some say that he reduced the people to the condition 
of serfs, buying their persons and lands for Pharaoh. There 
is reason to believe, however, that his measures, instead of 
depressing, improved the condition of the people. From the 
monuments we gather that a change took place in land tenure 
during the Hyksos' dynasty, and doubtless at this very time. 
Formerly, Egypt had been divided amongst the aristocracy, 
who owned both land and people. Joseph's measures freed 
the people from all service except that which they owed to 
the crown, and the land theoretically resumed by Pharaoh 
was returned by him to the cultivators with a crown title and 
a uniform rent of one-fifth of the produce. Joseph's method 



198 THE HEBEEWS 

was in fact much the same as the nationalisation of land 
which some advocate at the present day. 

An inscription has been deciphered in a tomb at El-Kab in 
Upper Egypt, in which one Baba says : " I collected corn, as 
a friend of the harvest god, I was watchful at the time of 
sowing. And when a famine arose, lasting many years, I 
distributed corn to the city each year of famine." The date 
of the inscription agrees with the time of Joseph and un- 
doubtedly the same famine is alluded to. 

A famine in Egypt did not necessarily mean a famine 
elsewhere, but in this particular instance Canaan also suffered, 
and Jacob's sons came to Egypt to buy food. Joseph easily 
recognised his ten brethren, but they failed to recognise in 
the gorgeously- apparelled and stately vizier the brother whom 
they had sold for a slave. The way in which Joseph tested 
the condition of their hearts is inimitably told, and the 
concluding incidents when, the cup having been found in 
Benjamin's sack, the brethren are advised to save themselves, 
but, rather than desert their brother, return, certainly to 
bondage, possibly to death ; the manner in which Judah with 
the calmness of despair recounts the story from the beginning 
and ends by beseeching the grand vizier to accept him as a 
slave in Benjamin's stead, and thus save their aged 
father's heart from breaking ; Joseph's sudden outburst of 
emotion and revelation of himself ; the terror of the brethren, 
and the joyful after-events, all these together form a narra- 
tive of dramatic beauty almost unsurpassed. At Joseph's 
Circa request Jacob and the rest of the family migrated to Egypt 
' and settled in Goshen, a fertile province on the eastern 
side of the Delta, now traversed by the railway from 
Ismailia to Zagazig, where they prospered and multiplied 
exceedingly. 

We cannot say in whose reign these incidents occurred, but 
it was during the Hyksos period, and probably towards its 
close. Some think that Joseph's patron was Apepi II., in 
whose reign the war of independence broke out, in which 



JOSEPH 199 

case Jacob's family must have settled in Egypt on the eve 
of troublous times. 

In connection with the interview between Pharaoh and 
Joseph's brethren the statement is made that " every shepherd 
is an abomination to the Egyptians". This antipathy has 
been referred to the fact that Egypt had been conquered by 
the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, but this would be no sufficient 
explanation, seeing that Pharaoh was himself one of them. 
The true explanation doubtless is that given by Professor 
Sayce, who says that "the flocks of the Delta were tended 
partly by Bedouin, partly by half-caste Egyptians, who were 
looked on as pariahs ". 



CHAPTER III. 

THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE. 

Four centuries elapsed between the migration of the Hebrews 
into Egypt and the Exodus, and for a time they were well 
enough treated. But the Pharaoh under whose auspices they 
had entered Egypt was a member of a foreign dynasty against 
which a war of independence broke out. The war lasted a 
long time, but at last ended in the expulsion of the Hyksos 
kings and the re-establishment of a native dynasty. The 
Hebrews had thus lost their natural protectors ; neverthe- 
less the kings of the eighteenth dynasty, who came upon the 

1600. scene about this time, did not interfere with them. On the 
contrary these kings were themselves Asiatic in tone, marrying 

1400. Syrian wives and introducing foreign customs. One of them, 

Amenhotep III., married Tyi, a Syrian princess and sun 

worshipper, and their son, Akhenaten, abandoned the national 

religion for the worship of the solar disc ; and when this led to 

friction with the priesthood of Thebes, he changed his capital 

to Tel el-Amarna, and surrounded himself both in his temples 

and in the government of the country with foreigners. After 

his death there was a reaction, the foreigners were ejected, and 

the national religion and nationalist party triumphed. The 

next kings, therefore, those of the nineteenth dynasty, gave 

no quarter to foreigners, and these were the kings who knew 

not Joseph, but made the lives of the Hebrews " bitter with 

hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of 

service in the field ". 

There was good reason why tyrannical kings like those 

who now arose should view with alarm the rapid increase of 

(200) 



THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE 201 

the Hebrews, seeing that they were aliens, and lived in a 
quarter where, if inclined to be disloyal, they could lend in- 
valuable aid to Asiatic invaders. The word went forth there- 
fore to treat them with rigour. The free and independent 
life they had been leading they led no more ; their flocks and 
herds Were confiscated ; they were treated as captives of war 
and forced to toil under the lash upon the public works. The 
Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty who treated the Hebrews 
with such severity were Ramses I., Seti I., Ramses II. and 
Merenptah, and in an inscription dating from the reign of the 
last-mentioned the following words occur : " The Israelites 
are spoiled so that they have no seed". 

Moses was born during the reign of Ramses II., the mighty 
monarch who lived one hundred years, reigned sixty-seven 
years, and whose embalmed remains have been identified. As 
the Hebrews continued to increase notwithstanding the cruel 
treatment to which they were subjected, Ramses ordered their 
male infants to be slain, a command which was doubtless 

largely disobeyed. At this juncture Moses was born, and Circa 

1270 
saved from death by Pharaoh's own favourite daughter, Bint- 

Anat, who, herself half Syrian, had much sympathy with the 
Hebrews. 

Moses received in the palace the best education that Egypt 
could afford, but was in no doubt concerning his parentage, 
and as he grew older the sufferings of his people burned into 
his soul. One day, seeing an Egyptian smite a Hebrew, he 
slew the Egyptian, and the thing becoming known and the 
anger of Ramses being aroused, Moses fled across the Sinaitic 
peninsula and took refuge in Midian. Here he was well 
received, and Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro the priest and 
prince of Midian, was given him to wife. After the death 
of Ramses II., there being still no mitigation in the condition 
of the Hebrews, God ordered Moses to return to Egypt and 
demand their freedom — his brother Aaron being associated 
with him in the enterprise. The task was apparently super- 
human, and it is no wonder that Moses shrank from it. 



202 THE HEBEEWS 

The interference of Moses and Aaron at first only added 
to the miseries of their countrymen. Thousands of them were 
engaged in the making of bricks for which much straw was 
required, partly for mixing with the clay and partly for firing 
the bricks. The straw and brushwood had been heretofore 
supplied to the workers in the kilns, but Pharaoh, pretending 
that the agitation arose from idleness, ordered that the Hebrews 
should gather these for themselves, thus greatly increasing 
the labour of the already-overburdened bondsmen. In spite, 
however, of Pharaoh's cruelty and the undisguised hostility of 
their own people, the brothers persevered, working miracles 
in the presence of the king as signs of their divine mission. 
The Egyptian priests, who were clever conjurers, imitated 
their feats for a time, and Pharaoh was unimpressed, but 
when they began to take the form of plagues he wavered and 
tried to make terms. At first he would permit them to sacrifice 
to their God " in the land " ;then they might go if they would 
" not go very far away " ; then the men might go " and serve 
the Lord " ; and at last they might go if they would leave 
their cattle behind. But Moses refused to compromise, nothing 
less than the unconditional emancipation of the people could 
be considered. 

At length the crisis came, and God announced to Moses 
that He would bring one plague more upon Egypt — a plague 
so terrible that after it Pharaoh would eagerly thrust them 
out of the land. 

' ' All the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from 
the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even 
unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; 
and all the first-born of beasts. 

"And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land 
of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it 
any more." 

That night, with their loins girded, shoes on their feet, 
and staves in their hands, the Hebrews stood alert, partaking 
of the feast which from that day to this has been a memorial 



THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE 203 

of the great occasion. In the night the awful stroke fell upon 
Egypt. None were spared. In palace and in dungeon the 
first-born died. And in the darkness, amidst the clamour and 
wailing of his people, Pharaoh arose and calling for Moses and 
Aaron entreated them in God's name to begone. 

Three kings succeeded Ramses II., viz., Merenptah, Seti 
II., and Si-Ptah, their united reigns only covering a period of 
thirty or forty years at most, after which there was a time of 
anarchy, followed by the rise of the twentieth dynasty. 

The Exodus probably took place in the reign of Merenptah, 
the immediate successor of Ramses, and though authorities 
differ as to the precise date it is now brought within com- 
paratively narrow limits. 

There is much doubt about the number of Hebrews who 1200. 
left Egypt. It is given as " 600,000 men," and if the word 
men means grown males, the number of Hebrews would have 
been about 2,000,000, but this seems inconceivable. There 
are so many difficulties in connection with the translation of 
Hebrew numbers that the question cannot be decided at 
present in a satisfactory way. Professor Sayce thinks the 
traditional number of 600,000 may have " represented the 
whole body of fugitives ". 

The nearest way to Canaan was by the coast, but this 
district was the scene of much fighting between the Philistines 
and Egyptians, and there were Egyptian garrisons there, so 
that Moses led the people by a quieter way, from Ramses to 
Succoth, and from Succoth to Etham, one of the fortresses 
which protected the Asiatic frontier of Egypt. Here they 
turned in a southerly direction, and still keeping within the 
Egyptian wall of fortification encamped at Pi-hahiroth near 
the extremity of the Gulf of Suez, which being enclosed by 
Egyptian territory on both sides was called the Egyptian Sea. 
By this time Pharaoh's panic had subsided, and, angry at the 
loss of his serfs, he determined to pursue. They were still 
within the line of fortification, and, from the position they 
occupied, seemed entirely at his mercy. Accordingly a force 



204 THE HEBEEWS 

of cavalry composed probably of the body guard, the elite of 
the Egyptian a r my, was quickly on their track, and the 
terrified Hebrews heaped reproaches on their leader. " Because 
there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die 
in the wilderness ? " 

But Moses believed in God, and his faith was justified. In 
the night a strong east wind blew, driving back the shallow 
waters of the sea, and leaving a passage through which the 
people crossed in safety. Seeing their prey about to escape 
the Egyptians followed, but it was too late. Their chariots 
stuck in the wet sand, the wind fell, the sea rushed back, and 
they all perished in the waters. 

This disaster to the Egyptian army is not entirely without 
parallel. Those accustomed to flat sands and high tides know 
how dangerous they are. When Artaxerxes invaded Egypt 
with a Persian army, he lost part of it in a similar way, and 
Napoleon Buonaparte narrowly escaped like peril in the same 
region. 

The Hebrews now no longer feared pursuit, but they were 
not yet outside Egyptian territory. From early times the 
Sinaitic peninsula was held more or less effectively by Egypt, 
and the belief that the Hebrews after thus escaping ran into 
further danger by wandering amongst the mines and garrisons 
of this barren peninsula, though still held by some authorities, 
seems both unreasonable and out of harmony with the Biblical 
narrative. After they had crossed the sea and passed the 
fortifications, it is more likely that Moses led the people due 
east to the extremity of the Gulf of Akaba, where they were 
beyond Egyptian influence, and in a hospitable region lying 
between Edom and Midian. From these tribes they had 
reason to expect friendly succour, for the Edomites claimed 
descent from Abraham, and Moses had lived many years 
amongst the Midianites, and was married to the daughter of 
their prince. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE NATION FORMED. 

Whilst marching northwards from Akaba they were attacked 
by Amalekites and had to fight hard ; but, under the leadership 
of Joshua, they were victorious. Shortly after, Jethro, the 
prince of Midian, visited the camp, and advised his son-in-law 
concerning the organisation of the new community. After 
this they were gathered at Sinai — a mountain which some 
think to have been in the mountains of Seir, and others 
believe to have been in the barren peninsula which bears its 
name. 

Professor Sayce says that the belief that the Sinaitic 
peninsula was the scene of the wanderings of the Hebrews 
is " not only irreconcilable with the facts of Egyptian history 
but also with the narrative of the Pentateuch itself. It tran- 
sports the Amalekites or Bedouin of the desert south of Judah 
to the western side of the Sinaitic peninsula, and performs the 
same feat for the wilderness of Paran. It makes Jethro, the 
high priest of Midian, cross the Gulf of Akaba, and make his 
way through barren gorges and hostile tribes in order to visit 
his son-in-law, and sets at defiance the express testimony of 
Hebrew literature that Mount Sinai was among the mountains 
of Seir." 

" Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst 
out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens 
dropped, the clouds also dropped water. 

" The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that 

Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel." 

If this opinion is correct, the Hebrews camped in the fertile 

(205) 



206 



THE HEBEEWS 



U 



< 



valleys of a great mountain range hidden away from the 
Egyptians, protected by their numbers and by the prestige 
arising from their success over the Amalekites : dwelling 
safely and receiving instructions concerning both moral and 
ceremonial law. 

The central thought round which the law clustered was 
the recognition of Jehovah, the one God, as head of their 
state, leader, lawgiver and Supreme Court of Appeal. Idola- 
try was to be mercilessly crushed out from amongst them ; 
and, that this might be done effectively, the Canaanites were 
to be expelled from the land. Subsequent events showed the 
wisdom of this injunction, for the Canaanites, who were given 
up to polytheism and immorality, were only partially expelled, 
and through their influence the Hebrews fell again and again 
into apostasy, thus poisoning, by neglect of this command, their 
whole national life. 

; Politically the government was republican in form, some- 
what comparable to that of the United States. The law was 
a written constitution, a federal and unalterable compact 
between the tribes. Subject to this each tribe enjoyed inde- 
pendence, and was governed by its own head men — but all 
united for national defence, and they had generally a common 
president. 

The Hebrews were never to forget that they were brethren ; 
there must be no oppression and no hopeless poverty. The 
land was to be fairly divided, each family having its share. 
If a man fell upon evil times, he might pledge his land ; if he 
were very poor, he might pledge himself or his children, and 
thus secure at least food and shelter ; but periodically there 
was to be a jubilee, and land and freedom were to be restored. 

Sanitary rules were laid down with an amount of detail 
which can only be appreciated when we remember the cir- 
cumstances of the time, and the extraordinary precautions 
necessary to prevent the breaking out of disease, where so 
many were gathered together in a hot climate. 

The injunctions with regard to punishment for crime were 



THE NATION FOEMED 207 

severe, and show that crimes of violence were prevalent amongst 
the Hebrews. The long servitude in Egypt, during which they 
had little or no status before the courts of justice, led to their 
taking the law into their own hand, and the vendetta was 
customary amongst them. The Mosaic law substituted judi- 
cial authority for private vengeance, and in the permanent 
settlement of the country, cities of refuge were provided to 
which one who had unwittingly slain another might flee from 
" the avenger of blood ". 

Much in the law was peculiarly tender and kind. The 
treatment of the poor was considerate. They might glean 
and gather here and there, and in so fertile a land as Canaan 
could scarcely starve. Nor were the dumb animals forgotten. 
The ox was not to be muzzled as it trod the corn, but was to 
eat its fill ; beasts of unequal strength were not to be yoked 
together ; and in birdnesting, if the young birds were taken 
the old were to be spared. 

What could be more suggestive of humanity than the 
following ? 

" When ye reap the harvest of your laud, thou shalt not 
wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather 
the gleanings of thy harvest, and thou shalt not glean thy 
vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger. 

" Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, the wage of him 
that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the 
morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling- 
block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God; I am the Lord. 

" Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment ; thou shalt 
not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of 
the mighty : in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neigh- 
bour." 

Whilst Moses was absent in the mount receiving the law, 
the people, fancying that he had either perished or abandoned 
them, became unmanageable, and forgetting Jehovah, slid 
back to the idolatry of Egypt. Aaron, unable to control, 
humoured them by letting them make and worship an image 



208 THE HEBEEWS 

of gold, but in the midst of the degrading festival Moses re- 
turned. In fierce anger he ealled upon those who were on the 
Lord's side to rally round him, and when his own tribe, the 
tribe of Levi, obeyed the summons, he ordered them to do 
execution amongst the idolaters. The faithfulness of his tribe 
at this juncture was not forgotten ; and, shortly after, when 
it became necessary to single out a tribe for the service of the 
sanctuary, Levi was chosen. 

Though the service of the sanctuary was the primary work 
of the Levites, they had many other duties. As the Hebrews 
lived by agriculture, and had little time for more than daily 
routine, it was desirable that a certain number should be free 
for more liberal pursuits, and the tribe of Levi was utilised 
for this also. The Levites, therefore, were not only the 
priests but also the judges, scribes and registrars. From 
their ranks came the officials, from the highest to the lowest ; 
the high priest and the superintendents of markets, the physi- 
cian and the scavenger were alike Levites. An equitable 
arrangement was made for their remuneration. Though they 
did not as a tribe receive a specific inheritance when the 
country was divided, they were allotted certain cities for 
residence, and tithes and fees of various sorts. These must 
have amounted to a considerable sum, but when the expensive 
nature of the worship is considered, the Levites probably did 
not receive more than a fair equivalent for the absence of 
the landed property which the others enjoyed. 

The law having been laid down and the people organised, 
they marched to Kadesh-Barnea, a city on the border of 
Canaan, whence deputies were sent from the tribes to recon- 
noitre. On their return, ten of the twelve who had been sent, 
though they reported favourably as regarded the land, declared 
that the inhabitants were too strong to be dispossessed, and 
only Caleb and Joshua advised going forward. The people 
were panic stricken, and refused to listen to the two brave 
men, who, indeed, narrowly escaped being stoned. 

In judging the Hebrews it must be remembered that they 



THE NATION FOBMED 209 

had been in bondage for generations, that they were without 
military skill, largely without arms, and had only once seen 
war. With strong religious faith they might have surmounted 
even these difficulties, but they lacked faith also. Evidently 
they were not fit to face the conquest, and Moses declared 
that it must be deferred until a braver generation had arisen. 

Dismayed at the alternative, the people now regretted their 
cowardice, and determined to attempt the invasion after all. 
In spite therefore of Moses' express prohibition, a number of 
them penetrated into Canaan, but they were defeated and 
driven back with great slaughter, after which they accepted 
the inevitable. 

We do not know how long it was before they again ad- 
vanced. The expression, "forty years," so often used in 
Scripture, means vaguely a good long while, and is rarely to 
be taken as a precise figure. But whatever the time may have 
been, it was not spent, as has been often imagined, in a barren 
desert, but in an open country, where the people found plenty 
of pasture for their flocks and lived in comfort until those 
whose spirit had been broken by Egyptian bondage had 
passed away, and a new and hardy generation had grown 
up amongst the mountains well fitted for the work which 
lay before them. 

When the march towards the land of promise was resumed, 
of the three who had been chiefly instrumental in leading the 
people out of Egypt, Aaron and Miriam were dead, Moses was 
old, and the leadership was passing into the hands of Joshua, 
his nominated successor. 

In approaching Canaan for the second time it was deter- 
mined to avoid the southern frontier, and to enter at the 
north end of the Dead Sea. The shortest way to reach this 
point was through the land of Edom, and Moses asked per- 
mission from the king of Edom to take this route, reminding 
him of the relationship which existed between the descendants 
of Jacob and Esau ; but he refused, fearing to admit so vast 

a throng of people within his territory. Very reluctantly, 

14 



210 THE HEBEEWS 

therefore, the Hebrews had to retrace their steps and march 
round his borders, southward to Akaba, and then, turning 
northward again, approach the promised land. 

Decisive contests with the Amorites and the king of 
Bashan soon made them masters of the eastern bank of the 
Jordan, and at last they pitched their camp in the plains of 
Moab over against Jericho. Balak, king of Moab, alarmed 
at the progress of the Hebrews and seeing no hope of success- 
ful resistance by arms, had recourse, after consultation with 
the Midianites, to supernatural agency. He sent for Balaam, 
a man from Pethor on the river Euphrates, who had a high 
reputation as a prophet, in the hope that his curses, if they 
did not bring a blight upon the Hebrews, might at any rate 
encourage his own warriors to resist them. Balaam came, 
induced by the reward offered, but, terrified by portents on 
his journey, he became the unwilling mouthpiece of the Spirit 
of God, and the curses which he had been hired to utter turned 
to blessings in his mouth. His evil heart, however, suggested 
to him that if the Hebrews could be tempted to commit sin 
they would lose the favour of God, and he advised the Midian- 
ites to conquer them thus. The method succeeded only too 
well ; but, disastrous as the result was to the Hebrews, the 
tempters also suffered, for a massacre of the tribes was 
ordered, and in the massacre Balaam fell. 

The country on the eastern side of the Jordan being now 
conquered, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked permission to 
settle there, and Moses agreed on condition that they should 
first help their brethren to conquer the land beyond. To this 
they willingly acceded, upon which the territory east of the 
Jordan was divided between them and the half tribe of 
Manasseh. 

Moses was now aged and the time approached when he 
must die. He found the Hebrews slaves : he had made 
them a free people, had given them laws, brought them to the 
boundary of the promised land and fitted them for its conquest. 
Before he passed away he appointed Joshua as his successor, 



THE NATION FOBMED 211 

and then gathering the people together he gave them his fare- 
well blessing. 

" There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth 
upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky. 
The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the ever- 
lasting arms. 

" Happy art thou, O Israel : who is like unto thee, O people 
saved by the Lord." 

After this Moses ascended to the top of Pisgah where he 
had a wide and uninterrupted view of the land which the 
Lord, in accordance with His covenant with Abraham, was 
about to bestow upon his seed. And from Pisgah, in solitary 
grandeur, this meekest of men, who nevertheless became the 
greatest of prophets, leaders and lawgivers, passed to his 
covenant-keeping God. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PROMISED LAND. 

Joshua, so long the lieutenant of Moses, now succeeded him 
as leader, and the people prepared to invade. They were 
encamped on the eastern side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, 
a city the reduction of which was clearly the first work to be 
done. The army accordingly crossed the Jordan as they had 
crossed the Egyptian Sea, dry shod. The same kind of thing 
happened in the year a.d. 1267, when the waters of the Jordan, 
blocked by a landslip, ceased to flow long enough to permit 
of a bridge being repaired. 

Jericho soon fell, and the way into Canaan lay open. The 
next effort, that against Ai, was not so fortunate, but the 
second attempt proved successful. The failure of the first 
attack was attributed to the wrong doing of Achan, who had, 
against express command, secreted valuable spoil, including 
"a goodly Babylonish garment". This apparently trifling 
incident touches the history of Babylon in an interesting way. 
For centuries the fabrics of Babylon had been famous, her 
merchants having traded freely with Canaan before the 
days of Abraham. About the time of the Exodus, Assyria 
was rising into power, and whilst Joshua was occupying 
Canaan, Babylon was being conquered by Assyria. 

When encamped at Gilgal the Hebrews were outwitted 

by the Gibeonites, a neighbouring tribe, who induced them 

to make alliance by pretending that their territory lay a long 

way off. It is to the credit of the Hebrews that they held 

;the treaty sacred after the fraud had been discovered. 

The alliance with the Gibeonites hastened the conquest 

(212) 



THE PEOMISED LAND 213 

of Palestine in an unexpected way, for the princes of the south, 
led by Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, enraged because the 
Gibeonites had made treaty with the invaders, attacked them, 
and Joshua coming loyally to the help of his allies, routed the 
confederacy. 

The manner in which this triumph is recorded has given 
rise to much discussion. Joshua is said to have prayed that 
the sun and the moon might stand still until the battle was 
finished, and his prayer was answered. The passage is a 
quotation from a collection of Hebrew poems called the Book 
of Jashar, and there is no need to contend for the literal 
interpretation of what is professedly poetry. Joshua un- 
doubtedly prayed that the day might not close until the 
Hebrews had vanquished their enemies, his prayer was 
answered, and the victory is described in the daring imagery 
so common to Hebrew poetry. 

The defeat of the southern princes alarmed those in the 
north, and another powerful confederation was formed against 
the Hebrews, but this also was overthrown at the waters of 
Merom. 

The brunt of the fighting was now over, and the Hebrews 
had made good their footing in Canaan, but the country was 
not wholly reduced, for many cities were still occupied by the 
Canaanites. It was not until the days of King David that the 
work was brought to a conclusion, when Jerusalem was added 
to the list of conquered cities and became the capital. The 
original inhabitants were never really thrust out — the Hebrews 
merely settled amongst them. Perhaps Moses made a mis- 
take in allowing some of the Hebrews to dwell on the 
eastern side of the Jordan, for, had all come across, more room 
would have been necessary, and fewer of the inhabitants 
could have remained. Those who were left in Canaan were 
a curse to the Hebrews there, whilst the Hebrews who dwelt 
east of the Jordan lost their spirituality, and became little 
better than the heathen who surrounded them. 

Amongst the cities captured by Joshua was Lachish, the 



214 THE HEBEEWS 

site of which has been recently discovered. Amongst the Tel 
el-Amarna tablets, letters have been found from the governors 
of Lachish to Pharaoh, written before the Exodus. Lachish 
was then an important stronghold in Southern Palestine, but 
the Hebrews destroyed it, and for many years it lay desolate. 

Though the conquest of Canaan was still incomplete, the 
victories obtained by Joshua had given the Hebrews so firm 
a footing that he could allot to each tribe its portion, and the 
land was equitably distributed in proportion to the number of 
families. 

It is interesting to notice how remarkably the way had 
been prepared for the Hebrews. At the time of the Exodus, 
Egypt was decaying and had lost all control in Asia, so that 
the Hebrews were able to make good their escape in a way 
which would have been impossible even a few years earlier. 
Afterwards, when they were securely hidden in the mountains 
of Seir, Canaan was overrun by tribes who aimed at the con- 
quest of Egypt, and Ramses III., in destroying these, himself 
invaded Canaan and reduced many of its cities. And finally, 
when the way had been thus cleared for the Hebrews and 
they were ready to take possession, the Egyptian monarchy 
once more fell into decay. 

Joshua was now an old man, and his hour of departure was 
at hand. After the battle of Ai he had gathered the Hebrews 
together and read the law, the people responding in blessings 
and cursings from the slopes of Ebal and Gerizim. Now again 
in his last days he summoned the leaders, and after reminding 
them of the mercies which they had enjoyed, adjured them 
to serve the Lord, and the people, touched by his impressive 
words, made fair promises. 

" The Lord our God will we serve, and unto His voice will 
we hearken." 

For a time all went well. " Israel served the Lord all the 
days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived 
Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that 
He had done for Israel." 



CHAPTER VI 

THE JUDGES. 

The period of the Judges presents much chronological diffi- 
culty. Formerly it was assumed that the persons mentioned 
ruled over the. whole country, and, by adding their years of 
office together, the period stretched to more than three cen- 
turies, and the time of the Exodus was thrust back. It is 
now considered probable that the Exodus took place between 
1250 and 1200, so that the time between the death of Joshua 
and the establishment of the monarchy could not have been 
more than a century and a half. The explanation is simple. 
After the death of Joshua there ceased to be a central autho- 
rity. The tribes had settled in their allotted possessions, but 
the Canaanites were still in the land, and the condition of the 
Hebrews varied according to the circumstances of the locality. 
In some parts of the country they were all-powerful and lived 
in peace, in other parts they were amongst enemies more 
numerous than themselves. The result was frequent war, 
and from time to time, as the emergency arose, local leaders 
and deliverers appeared at the same time in different parts 
of the land. 

The earliest serious trouble of the Hebrews was with a 
foreign foe. Scarcely was Joshua dead when Chushan-risha- 
thaim, king of Naharaim, a province on the eastern bank 
of the Euphrates, overran the country as far as the southern 
frontier of Palestine, with such effect that the Hebrews, as 
well as those whom they had dispossessed, were under his 
sway for eight years. From this enemy they were de- 
livered by Othniel, and as he was the brother of Cxleb we 

(215) 



216 THE HEBEEWS 

know that these events must have happened shortly after the 
occupation of Palestine. 

After Othniel's death, Eglon, king of Moab, laid the 
Hebrews under tribute for eighteen years, when he was 
assassinated by Ehud. 

In the south there were many troubles with the Philistines, 
a hardy race of pirates from Crete. These had made common 
cause with the tribes, who, in the reign of Ramses III., had 
attempted to invade Egypt, and they had made good their 
footing on the mainland. They now occupied the southern 
coast of Canaan, holding the important cities of Ashdod, 
Askelon, Ekron, Gaza and Gath, and giving their name to the 
whole country. The Philistines were great fighters, and a 
sharp thorn in the side of the Hebrews — sallying from their 
strongholds on the coast, and raiding the districts where the 
Hebrews were settled. Doubtless their numbers were often 
replenished from Crete and other islands of the Mediterranean, 
and they were not finally vanquished until the reign of King 
David. 

In the north the Canaanites under Jabin, king of Hazor, 
" mightily oppressed the Children of Israel ". 

" Untrodden were the highways, 
Through the winding by-path stole the traveller ; 
Upon the plains deserted lay the hamlets." 

At last Deborah arose, a woman of rare determination of 
character. Perceiving that the time had come for striking 
a blow for freedom, she persuaded Barak, a brave man and 
popular leader, to put himself at the head of such of the people 
as assembled on Mount Tabor in answer to their summons. 

Sisera, a confederate of Jabin and leader of the oppression, 
brought a great army to crush the Hebrews, but in the battle 
which followed he was defeated and slain. The " Song of 
Deborah," composed in honour of this victory, is one of the 
most ancient and finest pieces of poetry extant. 

After this the land had rest for a time, and then the 



THE JUDGES 217 

Bedouin of Midian and Amalek swept it year after year, 
destroying the crops and driving the terrified people to the 
mountains and caves. 

Gideon, a member of the tribe of Manasseh, now came 
forward, and the people rallied in considerable numbers to his 
standard. It was God's will, however, that the victory should 
be gained by a few, and the numbers were reduced until only 
300 chosen warriors remained. With these Gideon made a 
night attack of a most striking character. Each man was 
provided with a trumpet and a clay pitcher held upside down 
to conceal a lighted torch. The camp was silently approached 
on three sides, and then at a given signal the trumpets were 
blown, the pitchers thrown on the ground, and the torches 
brandished aloft. The din of 300 trumpets, the shouts of the 
men and the flaring of the torches breaking suddenly upon 
the darkness and silence of the night produced an extraordinary 
panic. The Arab horses dashed about in terror, the tribes 
fled or fell upon one another in wild confusion, and, utterly 
routed, were pursued and cut to pieces by the rest of Gideon's 
army. This victory made such an impression upon the 
Hebrews that they offered Gideon the title of king, but he 
refused, subordinating personal ambition to a sense of what 
was due to the sovereignty of Jehovah : " I will not rule over 
you, neither shall my son rule over you ; the Lord shall rule 
over you". 

After Gideon's death, however, Abimelech, one of his sons, 
seized the crown and was at first supported by the men of 
Shechem, but they soon tired of him. He was slain, and thus 
ended the first attempt to establish monarchy amongst the 
Hebrews. 

The next leader of importance was Jephthah, a Gileadite, 
who was victorious over the Ammonites. Before sallying 
forth he rashly vowed that if he returned victorious he would 
sacrifice whatsoever came out of his house to meet him. The 
first to meet him was his daughter. 

Samson, of the tribe of Dan, was the next national hero, a 



218 THE HEBEEWS 

man in whom strength and weakness, wisdom and folly, were 
strangely blended. After giving the Philistines abundant 
trouble, he fell a victim to the wiles of a woman, and at length, 
blinded and an object of sport to his captors, he died, but not 
ingloriously. 

1100. There dwelt at Shiloh in Ephraim a priest named Eli, in 
whose hands there was something like a concentration of civil 
and religious authority. Eli ruled well, but he was aged, and 
his sons who acted under him were licentious and corrupt. 
During one of the wars with the Philistines the Hebrews 
carried the ark with them into the battle, hoping thus to 
ensure God's presence on their side. His favour being denied, 
they were defeated, the sons of Eli were slain, the ark taken ; 
and when Eli heard the terrible news the shock killed him. 

The case of the Israelites now appeared desperate, for they 
were defeated, and apparently abandoned by God, so that 
nothing seemed left for them but unconditional surrender, yet 
at that moment of hopelessness their country was nearing the 
period of its greatest splendour. 

1080. When Eli died, there was in the temple a boy of eight 
years of age named Samuel. He had already received proofs 
of God's favour, though his early memories were necessarily 
associated with the terrible defeat of his countrymen and the 
capture of the ark of the Lord. The Philistines, finding that 
the presence of the ark brought disaster, soon returned the 
sacred symbol, but nevertheless continued to tyrannise over 
the Hebrews. They were disarmed, and, lest new weapons 
should be made, the smiths' shops were closed, so that if a 
Hebrew wanted his plough mended he must go to a Philistine 
smithy. As Samuel grew older he had a great and wholesome 
influence over the people, and a national reformation was set 
on foot. The centre for religious gatherings had hitherto been 
at Shiloh, but as this city was destroyed, and the ark was at 
Kirjath-jearim, Samuel gathered the people to Mizpeh for 
such public worship as was possible under the reign of terror. 
On one occasion during worship the Hebrews were attacked 



THE JUDGES 219 

by the Philistines, but, encouraged by a thunderstorm which 
beat in the face of their enemies, they turned upon them and 
were victorious, pursuing them for a considerable distance. 
This unexpected defeat and the attendant circumstances im- 
pressed the Philistines, and they did not again attack Mizpeh. 
It now became evident to the Hebrews that there could be 
no real improvement in the country without a change in the 
method of government. Samuel did his best, and his character 
was without reproach, but he was no warrior, and the people 
saw that they must have a military leader as king. Accordingly 
an assembly was held, and a monarchy having been decided 
on, the choice of king was left to Samuel. His choice fell 
upon Saul, a man possessed of many kingly qualities, who 
soon showed his worth. The Ammonites were besieging 
Jabesh Gilead, and the citizens, at their last extremity, 
pleaded for help. Saul summoned the people, and marched 
against the Ammonites, defeating them and saving the city, 
after which the wisdom of Samuel's choice was acknow- 
ledged, and Saul was accepted loyally as king. The in- 
habitants of Jabesh Gilead never forgot what they owed to 
him, and years after, when he and his sons had been slain 
on Mount Gilboa, and their bodies had been nailed to the 
walls of Bethshan, the men of Jabesh Gilead arose by night, 
took down the bodies and gave them respectful burial. 



220 



THE HEBEEWS 



TABLE OF THE KINGS. 

1. The Founders op the Empire. 

Saul circa 1020. 
David circa 1000. 
Solomon circa 960. 





2. The Divided Monarchy. 






JDDAH. ISRAEL. 




932 


Rehoboam. 


Jeroboam I . . 


932 


915 


Abijam. 






912 


Asa. 


Nadab 


910 






Baasha ..... 


908 






Elah 


884 






Zimri ..... 


882 






Omri ..... 


882 


871 


Jehoshaphat. 


Ahab 


874 






Ahaziah .... 


852 






Joram 


850 


846 


Jehoram. 






842 


Ahaziah. 






842 


' Athaliah. 


Jehu 


842 


837 


Joash. 










Jehoahaz .... 


814 


797 


Amaziah. 


Jehoash 


798 






Jeroboam II . 


783 


768 


Uzziah. 










Zechariah .... 


742 






Shallum .... 


741 






Menahem .... 


741 


736 


Jotham. 






734 


Ahaz. 


Pekahiah .... 


737 






Pekah 


736 


727 


Hezekiah. 


Hoshea . . . . 
Samaria captured and king- 


730 






dom ended by Sargon. 


722 


697 


Manasseh. 






642 


Anion. 






640 


Josiah. 






608 


Jehoahaz. 






608 


Jehoiakini. 






597 


Jehoiachin. 






597 


Zedekiah. 






588 


Jerusalem captured and de- 
stroyed by Nebuchadnez- 
zar. 







Based upon Sayce, Early Israel, 1899. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SAUL. 

When Saul ascended the throne he was no longer young, circa 
for his son Jonathan had grown to manhood. The prowess 
displayed by the king at Jabesh Gilead, and the feats of arms 
performed by Jonathan, so alarmed the Philistines, that they 
gathered in great numbers to battle, whilst Saul's best efforts 
could raise but a handful of men. Jonathan's courage, how- 
ever, delivered the Hebrews from an apparently hopeless 
position. Climbing with his armour-bearer into a Philistine 
stronghold and taking them by surprise, he slew about twenty 
men and created a panic amongst the rest. Saul perceived 
the confusion from the Hebrew camp, and quickly crossing 
fell upon the enemy who fled precipitately. This success so 
emboldened the Hebrews that many who, either from despair 
or compulsion, had gone over to the side of the Philistines, 
now returned to their allegiance. 

The king took advantage of this enthusiasm to subdue 
the Amalekites, who, since the Hebrews entered Canaan, 
had scarcely ceased from harassing them, dashing in from 
the desert on horses and camels and ravaging the land — 
the Hebrews from lack of cavalry being at their mercy. 
Saul determined to destroy the hornets' nest, and at the 
head of a powerful force chased the Amalekites to their 
desert homes, and from fastness to fastness so vigorously 
that they ceased for a long time to give trouble. 

Saul's reputation was now well established, and it might 

have been expected that he would reign prosperously. But 

(221) 



222 THE HEBEEWS 

for various reasons he was not a success. Samuel did not 
act kindly towards him, doubtless regarding him with jealousy,, 
and Saul was hindered rather than helped by the priesthood. 
Beside this there was a strangeness about him which increased 
as he grew older. There were times when he was morose 
even to madness, and there may have been insanity in his 
family. Yet there was much in him to command admiration. 
He continued to live his simple life, he built no palaces, nor 
were his people oppressed that he might have greater glory. 
And we cannot forget that with all his faults he retained to 
the end the affection of his son Jonathan, one of the noblest 
heroes of Hebrew history. 

As time went on the irrepressible Philistines again invaded 
Judah, encamping on one side of the valley of Elah whilst the 
Hebrews lay on the other. There was in the army of the 
Philistines a man of huge stature, named Goliath, who 
advanced from the ranks daily and challenged any Hebrew 
to single combat. When for several days none had been 
found willing to face him, a young Bethlehemite volun- 
teered — David, the son of Jesse. Though the ruddy youth 
had only a sling, his chances were better than might at 
first sight appear, for the eastern sling is often made on the 
principle of the bow and has at short range such precision 
that a marksman can bring down a bird on the wing. On 
the other hand Goliath's weapons were only of use at close 
quarters, and the heaviness of his armour, preventing rapid 
movement, made David's task comparatively easy. After 
mutual defiance in true Oriental fashion, David rushed 
forward, and Goliath fell with a pebble in his brain. 
This unexpected termination of the duel filled the Hebrews 
with valour and the Philistines with dismay, and the latter 
were chased to the gates of Ekron. 

After this feat David became a member of Saul's body- 
guard and later one of his generals and his son-in-law. But 
the popularity of the young hero with the people vexed the 
king, and during his fits of depression he sought his life. 



SAUL 223 

David, despairing of winning back his confidence, fled, and 
after sheltering for a time amongst the Philistines took to 
the mountains and dwelt in the caves of Adullam, near 
Bethlehem, where his boyhood had been spent. Here he was 
joined by his relatives and by men who were in trouble, until 
at last he had 600 outlaws under his command. 

Poor Saul went from bad to worse. He massacred eighty- 
five priests because Ahimelech the priest had succoured David 
on his flight. He chased David o n the mountains so recklessly 
that his own life lay twice at David's mercy. Yet every now 
and then the king's better nature asserted itself, and Jonathan's 
conduct was always noble. 

At length the end drew near. The Philistines combined 
to make a supreme effort and mustered in force on the southern 
slope of Gilboa — the Hebrews pitching their camp a few miles 
away. A presentiment of evil took hold of Saul. Samuel 
was dead, the priests had deserted him, and he could obtain 
no sign from God, so he resorted to witchcraft in his despair. 
Accompanied, tradition says, by Abner and Amasa, he went 
by night to a supposed witch at Endor, and learned that on 
the morrow he must die. 

Next day a terrible battle was fought. The Hebrews were 
routed, Saul's sons fell fighting valiantly around their father, 
and the king himself, sorely wounded and in imminent risk 
of capture, fell upon his sword — his faithful armour-bearer 
following his example and dying at his side. )/Y V 

Meanwhile David had passed through a strange experience. 
Hopeless of permanent success against Saul he had offered 
his services to Achish, the Philistine king, who had gladly 
given him and his followers an honourable place in the army 
and the city of Ziklag for residence. When Achish marched 
against Saul, David and his band went as auxiliaries and 
would doubtless have fought had they been permitted, al- 
though we may be sure that Saul and his sons would have 
t been sacred in their sight. David was, however, saved from 
this unpatriotic position by the Philistine chiefs, who, dreading 



224 THE HEBEEWS 

lest he might turn upon them on the field of battle, persuaded 
Achish to send him back. 

When David reached Ziklag he found that it had been 
raided by the Amalekites and burned to the ground, all the 
women having been carried away captive. A mutiny arose 
amongst the desperate men and they talked of stoning David, 
but he pacified them, and they started in pursuit. By good 
fortune they found an Egyptian slave who, having fallen ill 
on the road, had been left at the wayside by his master to 
perish. With his guidance the Bedouin were overtaken and 
surprised in the midst of revelry, so that no resistance was 
possible ; and with the exception of 400 young men who fled j 
upon camels, all were slain. The captives and spoil were, ^j 
recovered and much besides, for the storming of Ziklag had 
only been the final incident in the Amalekite raid. 

Two days after David's return to Ziklag he heard the sad 
news about the battle of Gilboa. The intelligence was brought 
to him by an Amalekite who pretended that he himself had 
slain Saul, thinking that the information would gratify David / 
and ensure a reward. But David was too /noble to feel any- 
thing but horror that an Amalekite should dare to lay violent 
hands upon the anointed king of Israel, and this man's story 
cost him his life. 

"The Song of the Bow" with which David commemorated 

the sad ending of Saul and Jonathan is amongst the most 

touching of elegies. 

Thy glory, Israel, is slain upon thy high places ! 
How are the mighty fallen ! 



Tell it not in Gath, 

Publish it not in the streets of Askelon ; 

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, 

Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
And in their death they were not divided ; 
They were swifter than eagles, 
They were stronger than lions. 




SAUL 225 



I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan : 

Very pleasant hast thou been unto me : 

Thy love to me was wonderful, 

Passing the love of women. &Sfc.s I 

How are the mighty fallen, 

And the weapons of war perished I 



15 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DAVID. 

Circa David was now the most suitable king for the Hebrews. 
True, Saul had left a son, Esh-Baal, but he was a man of little 
capacity, and in early times kingship did not pass by primo- 
geniture — the best man in the royal house being generally 
chosen. David was the king's son-in-law, a national hero, 
and captain of an armed force, and when he marched to 
Hebron he was at once chosen as king by the tribe of Judah. 
But the rest of the tribes clave to the house of Saul, and a 
stand was made on behalf of Esh-Baal (Ishbosheth) by Abner, 
Saul's commander-in-chief, who with the remnant of the army 
had escaped across Jordan. A long war ensued, but David 
was surrounded by mighty men on whose faithfulness he could 
implicitly rely, and his power increased daily whilst that of 
Esh-Baal waned. At last Abner quarrelled with his master, 
and endeavoured to come to terms with David, offering to 
bring over all Israel to him on condition of being made 
commander-in-chief. But Joab, David's nephew, who filled 
that post, assassinated Abner, and Esh-Baal was slain by his 
own servants not long after. 

There remained now of Saul's house only Merib-Baal 
(Mephibosheth), the son of Jonathan, a cripple ; and there was 
no longer any reason why the tribes which had not already 
come in should refuse to accept David's sovereignty. Accord- 
ingly Esh-Baal's supporters assembled at Hebron and David 
was crowned king of all Israel. 

This new aspect of affairs alarmed the Philistines, and they 

determined to attack David before he could gather strength. 

(226) 



DAVID 227 

The attack was successful and David had to take to the moun- ^ j i*jj& 
tains andjiiiie. once more in the caves "which had served as a - ■ «, « , - -^ 




refuge from Saul. He carried on a guerilla warfare against *^ju^Jt \\ ft/ 
the Philistines, gradually becoming more powerful until he 
felt strong enough to attack them in the field. Soon he was 
victorious, and, having driven them from Hebrew territory, 
he carried the war into Philistia itself, persevering until they 
were so fully subjugated that they acknowledged him as suze- 
rain, the best of their warriors taking service in his body-guard. 

About this time David besieged Jerusalem which, though 
an ancient city, had never been conquered by the Hebrews. 
It stood in the centre of the country, an impregnable Jebusite 
stronghold, threatening the unity of the kingdom. David re- 
solved to capture it, but his summons to surrender was received 
with scornful taunts. Such was the strength of the fortress 
that the Jebusites boasted if only the blind and the lame 
remained to defend it, it would be safe. Notwithstanding its 
strength, however, it was captured, and from that time Jeru- 
salem became the metropolis. Its position was superb. It 
was 2,500 feet above sea level, central yet secluded, reached 
only by steep paths and easily-guarded passes. Though 
often besieged it always offered a stout resistance ; and in 
the end had usually to be taken by bribery or stratagem. 
David built a palace for himself at Jerusalem, and would 
gladly have built a temple there, desiring that the city should 
be not only the political but also the religious centre for the 
nation. But this laudable design was prevented by Nathan, 
the prophet, who. told him that God had reserved for his son 
the honour of building the holy shrine. 

David accordingly had to content himself with amassing 
material and treasure on a vast scale in order that his son's 
task might be facilitated. 

As he was not allowed to build the temple, David prepared 
a pavilion for the ark (which had remained at Kirjath-jearim 
since its restoration by the Philistines in the days of Samuel), 
and brought it to Jerusalem amidst much rejoicing. 



228 THE HEBEEWS 

David was a poet and a musician of the highest order : he 
organised the worship of the sanctuary, and laid the founda- 
tion of the magnificent service of praise which was afterwards 
more fully developed when the temple was built by Solomon. 
It is interesting to reflect how much our religious service of 
to-day owes to this poet king. 

David was successful against all his foreign enemies, bringing 
Philistines, Moabites and Ammonites under his sway. More- 
over, when Syria and Damascus joined issue against him, 
although the war was prolonged, he was eventually suc- 
cessful — his garrisons being placed in Damascus and other 
northern towns, until all Syria, as far as the Euphrates, 
acknowledged his rule. 

In the kingdom thus united and triumphant, wealth in- 
creased, commerce flourished and prosperity and contentment 
reigned. 

Unfortunately, in the evening of life, David had to pass 
under a cloud. He committed gross sin, and, although he 
repented, the sin brought its penalty. He destroyed the home 
of another, and a blight fell upon his own. Amnon, his eldest 
son, wronged Absalom and was slain by him, and Absalom 
himself, his favourite son, banished, recalled and forgiven, at 
last basely rebelled. So popular was Absalom and so wide- 
spread the conspiracy against David that he fled with such as 
remained faithful to him across the Jordan. Fortunately Joab 
and other chief men stood firm, and Absalom weakly deferring 
attack until he had made a levy of the people, the king's friends 
had time to rally to his defence. In the hour of adversity 
David gave many signs of the true greatness of spirit which 
characterised him. When the priests would have brought 
the ark with them in the retreat he bade them carry it back 
to its accustomed place. 

" If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will 
bring me again, and show me both it and its habitation : but 
if He thus say, I have no delight in thee ; behold, here am I, 
let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him." 



DAVID 229 

When Shimei cursed him and threw stones at him, David 
would not suffer him to be touched. 

" The Lord hath said unto him, curse David." 

At last Absalom's levy was gathered and the armies joined 
battle. The rebel army was undisciplined and David had no 
anxiety about the result of the battle : all his anxiety was that 
his son's life should be spared. " Deal gently for my sake," 
he said, " with the young man." In spite of this pathetic 
injunction Joab slew Absalom, and though the action may 
have seemed politic, it was really cruel, and robbed David of 
all the joy of victory. J^CCc^^K ^W* V 5 ^ C WUA/" 

"O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would \^yv 
God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son ! " 

David could now return to Jerusalem without fear, but 
the manner of his returning raised dissension amongst the 
tribes. The elders of Judah came out to meet him, and the 
throng which brought him back was chiefly representative of 
Judah. The other tribes resented the action of Judah in thus 
forestalling them, bitter words passed, and Sheba, a Benjamite, 
headed another revolt. To make matters worse, David, exas- 
perated with Joab for the death of Absalom, had superseded 
him and made Amasa, a less competent warrior, commander- 
in-chief. The army refused to follow Amasa, and Joab 
killed him and resumed his position — David not daring 
again to thrust him aside. _ Sheba's rebellion was now 
easily subdued, but Joab, in spite of his splendid services, 
had a terrible account to render for the slaughter of Abner, 
Absalom and Amasa. 

In David's last years his kingdom was firmly established, 
and he had rest from his enemies. His life had been very 
chequered and he grew old before his time, but his worst 
troubles had been those of his own making. 

He had chosen Solomon as his successor, and had chosen 
wisely, but towards the end of his reign Adonijah, an elder 
son, tried to seize the sceptre and was supported by Joab 
and Abiathar. David heard of the conspiracy in time and 



230 THE HEBEEWS 

ordered that Solomon should be immediately crowned, after 
which Adonijah's following melted away. 

At last the great monarch passed to his rest. In his youth 
he had been the darling of the people, and in his riper years 
had done invaluable service to his country. Under Moses the 
Hebrews became a people, under Saul a nation, under David 
an empire. Many things might be said in his disparagement. 
The veracity of the sacred historian is testified by the im- 
partiality with which he records the evil as well as the good. 
David was very human, and when tried by prosperity he was 
found wanting. Nevertheless with all his imperfections and 
even crimes, he often lived at a high spiritual level, and was 
a true servant of God. Whether we judge his sacred songs 
as regards their sublimity of language or loftiness of thought, 
they transcend all other sacred poetry, and their strains will 
never cease to vibrate in the human heart. Amongst Hebrews 
David stands second to Moses, but amongst men whose careers 
have inspired and whose words have drawn humanity God- 
ward King David stands second to none. . < 



w/t 





CHAPTER IX. 

SOLOMON. 

Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, was twenty years old when circa 
he began to reign. The time of his accession was fortunate 
for a lover of peace. Babylon, Assyria and Egypt were weak, 
the surrounding peoples had been subdued by David, and no 
power was strong enough to dispute Solomon's supremacy. 
He was, therefore, at leisure to enjoy the magnificent in- 
heritance which his father had bequeathed, to enlarge and 
embellish the capital, and to carry out the construction of 
the temple, the great task upon which his father had set his 
heart. 

In this work he had the invaluable aid of Hiram, king 
of Tyre, a young man whose admiration for David was 
unbounded. The Hebrews were a simple agricultural people, 
possessing little artistic skill, while Hiram had among his 
Phoenician subjects highly-trained artificers, the best of whom 
were willingly placed at Solomon's disposal. Much of the 
material of the temple also came from Hiram's dominions, 
and in exchange for the labour and material thus ungrudgingly 
supplied, Solomon sent agricultural produce to Phoenicia. 

It was determined to build the temple on Mount Moriah, 

a most imposing site, but one which entailed immense outlay 

in building up foundations from the valley, before enough area 

could be provided for the temple and courts. The precise 

design of the temple can only be guessed at, for the Bible is 

not explicit, and Josephus in his description mingles features 

from each of the three temples together. 

The outer court, the part used for public ceremonies, was 

(231) 



232 THE HEBEEWS 

large. The temple proper was small, but exquisitely built, and 
covered with plates of gold, which flashed in the sunlight and 
could be seen by approaching pilgrims when they were yet a 
long way off. The doors were of cedar, the curtains of fine 
linen dyed in bright colours and richly embroidered. Inside 
was the Holy Place, and within it the Holy of Holies. 

In the outer court stood the brazen altar of sacrifice and 
the molten sea also of brass, forty-five feet in circumference, 
supported on twelve brazen oxen and provided with every 
appliance for the ablution of the priests. 

The temple took seven years in building, every detail was 
perfect, and no expense was spared. 

When finished, it was dedicated with a solemn festival 
which lasted for two weeks and drew a vast concourse from 
all parts of the country. From this time Jerusalem became 
the religious centre of the Jewish state, and the temple the 
one spot towards which every true Hebrew turned with 
longing eyes. 

Solomon's building operations did not end with the temple. 
Jerusalem was fortified, magnificent palaces built, and the 
water and drainage works, so necessary in a city periodically 
crowded with visitors at the great feasts, were not forgotten. 

In his early days Solomon paid close attention to the 
business of government and the country was well organised, 
being divided in Oriental fashion into provinces, over each of 
which a governor was placed who was responsible for taxes 
and internal administration. Solomon's alliance with Hiram 
was very advantageous to the nation. The Phoenicians were 
indefatigable traders and splendid seamen, whilst the Hebrews 
were almost without maritime experience. A trading partner- 
ship was therefore entered into between the kings, each having 
something to offer. Hiram had the port of Tyre with abun- 
dance of ships and seamen. Solomon had access to the Red Sea, 
controlled the caravan routes, and governed a country excel- 
lently situated as an emporium for trade between the three 
continents. Moreover, David had left vast wealth, and though 



SOLOMON 233 

much of it had been spent unproductively, some of it was still 
available for trading. Accordingly the mercantile fleets of 
the young kings sailed far and wide — to India, to the Zambesi 
and to Spain ; from every side produce was gathered and the 
fame of Solomon resounded through the Oriental world. 

Nor was Solomon's reputation based upon wealth and 
commerce alone, for he had a fertile mind and an amount of 
knowledge which places him in the front rank, whether we 
.speak of him as a poet, as an author of wise sayings, or as a 
naturalist, for " he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is 
in Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall ; he 
spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and 
of fishes ". 

Yet with all this wealth and all his wisdom Solomon's 
career was unhappy. The temptations that beset a king 
found in him an easy victim. His harem was on an unpre- 
cedented scale, and his wives, many of them heathen, stole his 
heart from God. As he grew older he became lax in religious 
matters, freely permitted idolatrous worship within his realm, 
and allowed the hills surrounding Jerusalem to be consecrated 
to heathen deities. 

Towards the end of his reign his popularity waned. So 
long as anything remained of the store which David had ac- 
cumulated, all went well, but when that was gone and money 
had to be found for the maintenance of gorgeous palaces and 
innumerable retainers, taxation became oppressive and the 
people discontented. It seems probable that the incidence of 
the taxes fell chiefly upon the northern tribes, and that Judah 
and Benjamin were lightly dealt with, if they did not escape 
taxation altogether, a state of things which must have seemed 
the more intolerable as the money was not spent where it was 
raised, but mainly for the benefit and glorification of the 
metropolis. 

At length the discontent of the northern tribes found 
utterance through Ahijah and Jeroboam — the former being a 
prophet, the latter a man who had attracted the attention of 



234 THE HBBEEWS 

Solomon by his ability and diligence at fortification work.. 
These plotted against the king, but the plot was discovered 
and Jeroboam fled to Egypt. 

Now Solomon had married an Egyptian princess, and had 
been for a time on excellent terms with Egypt, but the dynasty 
into which he had married had been overthrown, and Shishak 
who now reigned had no favour for Solomon and was delighted 
to foment rebellion against him. Jeroboam was therefore well 
received and remained in Egypt biding his time. 

Nor was it from the side of Egypt only that trouble 
loomed. Hadad, the Edomite, revolted and carried on a guer- 
illa warfare, attacking the trade caravans that passed between 
Palestine and the Red Sea. Worse still, Rezon had founded 
a new kingdom in Damascus destined in later years to bring 
much trouble to the Hebrews. David and Joab would have 
given these troublesome spirits short shrift, but Solomon was 
no warrior, and was more solicitous of present ease than 
of the future prosperity of his kingdom. 

At last he died, not much over fifty, having reigned about 
thirty years. 

Solomon had marvellous chances. He succeeded to a wide 
empire, a great reputation and untold wealth. At first, more- 
over, he ran well, but the temptations incident to prosperity 
mastered him, and he spent his later years in sensuous indul- 
gence. When he died, prematurely worn out, he left behind 
him an empty treasury, a rebellious people, and an empire 
ready to fall to pieces at the slightest touch. 

The book of Ecclesiastes furnishes a melancholy commen- 
tary upon a life which began in glorious brightness and ended 
almost in despair. Yet the teaching of that book is pure and 
good, and if, as seems probable, Solomon wrote it towards the 
end of his life, it shows that at the last his heart came back 
to its early allegiance. 

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear 
God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty 
of man." 



CHAPTER X. 

A DIVIDED EMPIEE. 

There is a glamour surrounding the name of Solomon which 
makes it hard to realise that during his later years his govern- 
ment was oppressive. The building of the temple was legiti- 
mate, especially as King David had made so much preparation 
for it, but the temple only inflamed Solomon's desire to build, 
and many pretexts were found for copying the example of 
the average Oriental monarch and wasting the resources of 
the country in senseless display. The consequence was that 
before his death discontent had arisen on every hand. Judah 
indeed showed no inclination to revolt, for she was loyal to 
the family from which she had gained so much material 
benefit, and through whom she had been raised to political 
supremacy, but the benefit and the uplifting had been at 
the expense of the northern tribes and these became jealous 
and discontented. Jeroboam, who had conspired with Ahijah 
during Solomon's life and been forced to fly to Egypt, now 
returned and became the mouthpiece of the disaffected. 

Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was at once accepted as king by 932, 
Judah, but it was necessary that he should obtain the alle- 
giance of the northern tribes and he called an assembly together 
at Shechem for that purpose. The tribes seem to have had 
at first no desire to rebel, but hoped that the young king 
would be easily persuaded to right their grievances, which 
were certainly weighty. 

" Thy father made our yoke grievous : now therefore 

make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy 

yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee." 

(235) 



236 THE HEBEEWS 

Rehoboam should have answered so reasonable a petition 
without hesitation and with cordiality, but instead he took 
three days for its consideration and then answered like a fool. 
The young aristocrats by whom he was surrounded advised 
him to make no compromise and he took their advice. The 
result was disastrous. 

" What portion have we in David ? neither inheritance in 
the son of Jesse : to your tents, O Israel : now see to thine 
own house, David." 

Rehoboam doubted the seriousness of the revolt and sent 
an agent to collect the taxes as usual, but it cost the unfor- 
tunate man his life ; and the king, fearing for his own safety, 
fled to Jerusalem. 

The northern tribes now chose Jeroboam as their king, 
and thus by Rehoboam 's folly the empire, which had been 
built up by David and had gained such dignity and glory 
from Solomon, was in a moment, and as it proved finally, 
dissolved. 

Judging superficially it seemed as if Jeroboam ruling 
over ten tribes must be stronger than Rehoboam ruling over 
two, but Jeroboam had many difficulties to face. Though a 
capable man and likely to be a good ruler, his family lacked 
prestige, and it remained to be seen how long those who had 
made him king in a moment of enthusiasm would stand by 
him. Rehoboam had certainly shown himself most indiscreet, 
yet the memories that clustered round David and Solomon 
kept Judah faithful to their dynasty to the end. The kings 
of Israel never reached this enviable position. Their tenure of 
office depended on their individual prowess and on the faith- 
fulness of their officers, and this often proved but a bruised 
reed, for out of nineteen kings who ruled over Israel eight 
were assassinated, and the dynasty was changed continually. 
Moreover, in comparing the relative strength of Judah and 
Israel, it must be remembered that Judah was homogeneous, 
encircling an almost impregnable capital of which all Hebrews 
were proud. The kingdom of Israel had as yet no rallying 



A DIVIDED EMPIEE 237 

point ; it consisted of tribes, widely scattered and strangers to 
each other, having only the temporary bond of union caused 
by the knowledge of a common grievance. Judah's greatest 
advantage, however, lay in the possession of the national 
sanctuary. It is true that the temple had not yet gained 
the prominence which it acquired later, nevertheless a practice 
had begun of going up to Jerusalem at the feasts, and Jeroboam 
saw that if this continued his position would be endangered. 
Accordingly he established sanctuaries at Dan for the northern 
tribes, at Bethel for the tribes of the east and centre. In this 
there was no sin, for God had laid down no law restricting 
worship to Jerusalem. The temple worship was indeed com- 
paratively modern, and until lately Shiloh had been more 
sacred than Jerusalem. But there was great sin in setting up 
calves of gold as symbols of Jehovah, and for this Jeroboam 
was justly condemned. 

Rehoboam did not mean to relinquish his hold upon Israel 
without a struggle, and on his return to Jerusalem he levied 
an army, but was dissuaded by a prophet from making war. 
In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, led 927. 
his forces against Jerusalem. Possibly he did so at the re- 
quest of Jeroboam, but this is not certain, as the record of the 
subsequent campaign which is engraved on the temple at 
Karnak contains amongst the names of conquered towns those 
of towns belonging to the northern kingdom. This does not 
prove much, however, for possibly these cities had refused to 
own Jeroboam as king, or their names may have been entered 
because Jeroboam in asking aid had acknowledged Egyptian 
suzerainty. In any case Judah suffered most, and Jerusalem 
above all. Shishak 's army entered Judsea in three columns, 
and Rehoboam, quite unable to cope with him, ransomed his 
capital by emptying his treasury and stripping the temple. 
Shishak marched victoriously throughout the country, and 
after plundering 130 cities, many of which cannot have 
been more than mere villages, returned to Egypt with much 
spoil and great glory. 



238 THE HEBEEWS 

Shishak died soon after this invasion and for a while the 
kingdoms of Judah and Israel had rest from foreign foes, but 
between themselves there was no peace. Wherever borders 
marched there was fighting and raiding, while cattle-lifting, 
massacre and burning never ceased. 

Rehoboam reigned for seventeen years and was succeeded 

915. by Abijam, his son. The latter lost no time in attacking Jero- 
boam whom he defeated with great loss, capturing the city of 

912. Bethel. Abijam only reigned two years and was followed 
by his son, Asa, who reigned forty-one years. About the 

910. same time Jeroboam also died and was succeeded by Nadab, 

908. who after reigning three years was assassinated by Baasha, 
his captain. Baasha became king with the support of the 
army, and attacked Judah vigorously, regaining all Jeroboam 
had lost, and so pressing Asa that he besought succour from 
Benhadad, king of Damascus. 

Damascus was conquered by David, but in Solomon's 
time regained its independence through the energy of Rezon, 
and after the break-up of the Hebrew empire became once 
more a city of importance. Benhadad accordingly invaded 
Israel at Asa's entreaty, and quickly compelled Baasha to 
make terms and cease from troubling Judah. 

884. Elah succeeded Baasha but was slain by Zimri, one of 

his captains, who hoped probably for the support of the 
soldiery, but he had overestimated his strength, for the army 

882. would have none of him and elected Omri, their general, as 
king. Omri marched on Tirzah where Zimri dwelt, and the 
wretch, despairing of success, set fire to the palace and perished 
in its ruins. 

At first Omri had a rival named Tibni, who was followed 
by half the tribes, and civil war raged in Israel for four years, 
but Tibni died, and Omri was accepted as king by all. He 
proved a capable monarch and his reign has this added interest 
that it is mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions. So important 
indeed did the Assyrians consider him that they spoke of 
Israelitish kings as being of the house of Omri even after 



A DIVIDED EMPIRE 239 

the dynasty was extinct. And in an inscription of the reign 
of Shalmaneser II. when Jehu is described he is termed " Jehu 
the son of Omri," although it was Jehu himself who had ex- 
terminated the family. 

Omri's rule was prosperous. Relations between Israel 
and Judah were friendly during his reign ; he conquered 
Moab, imposing on it a heavy tribute in sheep and wool, and 
gave Israel a capital. Hitherto the kings of Israel had not 
ventured to found a metropolitan city, but had lived at 
Shechem, Penuel and Tirzah, but Omri picked out an eligible 
site and founded Samaria, fortifying it and building in it a 
palace and a temple, so that the Israelites had now a rallying 
point. Omri even ventured to cross swords with Benhadad, 
but was unsuccessful and had to make peace by surrendering 
cities in Gilead, and by setting apart a quarter in the city of 
Samaria where the Damascene merchants might trade. 

It may have been Omri's want of success against Ben- 
hadad that led him to make alliance with Ethbaal, king 
of Sidon, marrying Ahab his son to Jezebel, the Sidonian 
princess. 

Whilst these changes were going on in Israel the throne 
of Judah had been occupied by Asa, who became king of 
Judah shortly before the death of Jeroboam, king of 
Israel. 

He was an excellent prince who favoured religion and 
discouraged idolatry with so much zeal that he even de- 
posed Maachah, the queen dowager, from her position of 
supremacy in the royal household because of her idolatrous 
practices. 

The result of Asa's excellent rule was speedily seen in an 
improved national tone. The army was strengthened and 
the cities fortified, and such was the spirit of the people that 
Asa shook off the yoke which Shishak had imposed on 
Rehoboam and re-established Judsean independence. The 
Egyptians did not submit to the loss of Judasa without an 
effort, and invaded Southern Judsea, but Asa encountered 



240 THE HEBEEWS 

them with such determination that they were defeated and 
did not trouble Judah again until the reign of Josiah. 

It was strange that although Asa had been so successful 
against Egypt, he was afraid to stand alone against Israel, 
and had to ask help from Benhadad, who defeated Baasha as 
has been already mentioned. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE DAYS OF ELIJAH. 

Ahab, the son of Omri, was now king in Israel — his wife 874. 
being Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon. Ahab 
has a bad name, but was not utterly abandoned. Theoretically, 
at any rate, he clung to the worship of Jehovah, and showed 
a certain regard for His servants ; but his alliance with Jezebel, 
the Sidonian princess, was a cause of misery in Israel. Yet it 
is not fair to judge even Jezebel harshly. True she was cruel 
and unscrupulous enough, but we must remember that she had 
been trained as an idolater and surrounded in her father's 
palace by obsequious priests, so that she failed to understand 
either the spiritual worship of Jehovah or the rugged independ- 
ence of his prophets. Her influence was, however, malign 
throughout. To gratify her, many innovations were made 
and idolatrous practices tolerated — temples being built in 
honour of Baal, and Jehovah's followers persecuted and even 
slain at her instigation. 

At this period a new class of religious teachers had arisen 
amongst the prophets — men not necessarily endowed with the 
extraordinary gifts of the prophetic office but devoted to the 
service of God, preaching, prayer and the study of the Scrip- 
tures. They were not celibates, for the wives of the sons of 
the prophets are spoken of, but they seem to have lived in 
communities, and they were divided into schools, each showing 
reverence to a superior. 

Though some of these prophets temporised, the majority 

stood up valiantly against Jezebel for the worship of Jehovah, 

and earnestly opposed the idolatrous practices which were 
16 (241) 



242 THE HEBEBWS 

being introduced under her patronage. Filled with wrath 
the queen determined to root out the worship of Jehovah 
altogether ; and, as a preliminary, massacred many of his 
prophets. 

At this critical moment Elijah appeared upon the scene. 
Of his origin we know nothing, and only a few incidents of 
his life have come down to us, yet he has left a unique im- 
pression on history. He seems to have been a man of imposing 
presence, and he first appears entering, apparently unsummoned, 
into the presence of Ahab to announce the approach of a great 
drought as a punishment from God for the national apostasy. 
Having fulfilled this mission he disappeared from Ahab's pre- 
sence as suddenly as he had come. 

During the period of drought Elijah lived in seclusion at 
Sarepta, actually within the territory of Ethbaal, Jezebel's 
father. In the third year of drought Ahab, now greatly 
alarmed, went through the land with Obadiah, his chief 
minister, to see what measures could be adopted to save the 
cattle from destruction. On the way Elijah met him, and 
challenged him to test the merits of the rival faiths. Ahab 
accepted the challenge and next day, amidst a huge concourse 
of the people, Elijah faced with undaunted spirit 400 Phoenician 
priests. At his suggestion the prophets of Baal built an altar 
and laid a sacrifice thereon, but though they cried to their god 
all day, no fire came from heaven to consume it. When their 
efforts were evidently in vain, Elijah built his altar, and, when 
he had solemnly appealed to Jehovah for a response, fire at 
once flashed from heaven. The astonished people acknowledged 
the hand of God, and at Elijah's bidding the Phoenician prophets 
were slain, after which the drought ceased and abundant rain 
descended upon the land. 

The massacre of the priests of Baal naturally enough ex- 
asperated Jezebel to madness, and she sent a threatening 
message to Elijah, who fled to Horeb despairing of life. 
Soon, however, his spirit was soothed by a vision of God, 
and he was ordered to return and to anoint Jehu as king 






THE DAYS OF ELIJAH 243 

of Israel, Hazael as king of Syria, and Elisha as successor 
to himself. 

Once again he appeared before Ahab, after Jezebel had 
murdered Naboth and stolen his vineyard, to warn him of 
the doom overshadowing his house. The king showed that 
he was not entirely reprobate, for his pride broke down, 
he put on sackcloth and the fierceness of God's anger was 
for the moment turned away. 

Ahab was a warlike king. He kept Moab in subjection 
and Judah in check, and held his own against Damascus. 
Benhadad II. was now king there, and although he had not 
the ability of Benhadad I. he had considerable power. For 
some reason war arose between Damascus and Israel, and the 
Syrians laid siege to Samaria with so powerful an army that 
surrender was imminent. But being over-confident they be- 
came neglectful, and the garrison made a fortunate sortie and 
defeated them. This victory so encouraged the Israelites that 
when, next year, Benhadad resumed hostilities, they again 
defeated him and even made him prisoner, though Ahab, some- 
what unwisely, set him free. 

The reign of Ahab has a special interest arising from the 
fact that during it Israel came into contact with Assyria. 
This ancient power had been for a long time under a cloud, 
but was now embarking on a fresh career of conquest, and a 
monolith of Shalmaneser II. tells us that in a great battle 
fought by him at Karkar, 10,000 men belonging to Ahab of 853. 
Israel took part. Benhadad II. was chief of the confederacj^ 
of which Ahab was a member ; and, although Shalmaneser 
claimed the victory, the Assyrians suffered so severely that 
their advance was stayed. 

The reign of Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, over Judah was 871. 
parallel with that of Ahab over Israel. Jehoshaphat reigned 
well and his kingdom prospered, but he made a mistake in 
marrying his son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab 
and Jezebel, for alliance with such a family could only be 
productive of evil. It is possible that at this time Judah 



244 THE HEBEEWS 

acknowledged Ahab as suzerain ; at all events Jehoshaphat 
paid him a visit, and was persuaded to help him in an 
endeavour to wrest Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. The 
battle was most disastrous to the confederates, for Jehoshaphat 
narrowly escaped with his life and Ahab was slain. 
852. Ahaziah succeeded Ahab, but died within two years from 

an accident, and was succeeded by his brother Joram. After 
Ahab's death the king of Moab had ceased to pay tribute, and 
Joram persuaded the kings of Judah and Edom to join him 
in a successful raid upon his revolted vassal. 

Elisha, the successor of Elijah, comes into prominence 
just now with a fame only second to that of his master. 
His reputation, indeed, spread beyond the borders of Israel, 
and he was visited by Naaman, a Syrian general, whom he 
was instrumental in curing of leprosy. But this did not 
prevent Syria from warring against Israel, and Samaria was 
again so closely invested that capitulation seemed inevitable, 
when an inexplicable panic arose amongst the Syrians and 
they fled. 

Afterwards Elisha travelled as far as Damascus, and Ben- 
hadad II., hearing of his proximity, and being sick, sent 
Hazael, his leading officer, to ask the prophet if he would 
recover from his sickness. Elisha looking on Hazael fixedly 
said that the disease was not mortal, yet the king would die, 
and by his answer and manner Hazael perceived that Elisha 
had read his heart and knew that he had determined to murder 
his master. Elisha's prediction was fulfilled — Hazael returned 
to Damascus, assassinated the king and seized the throne. 

During the reign of Jehoshaphat over Judah the kingdom 
enjoyed some prosperity. Legal reforms were introduced, 
the country fortified and commerce advanced. The king even 
went so far as to build a fleet for the purpose of trading on 
the Red Sea, but it was wrecked. 
846. Jehoshaphat was succeeded by Jehoram who reigned during 

a few stormy years. His wife Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab 
and Jezebel, had an evil influence over him, and the worship 



THE DAYS OF ELIJAH 245 

of Baal was established in Judah as it had already been in 
Israel. Many misfortunes followed this departure from God. 
First Edom revolted and Jehoram lost access to the Red Sea, 
after which the Arabians invaded Judaea, stormed and plun- 
dered the royal palace, and carried many away captive. 

Jehoram died soon after, and was succeeded by Ahaziah, 842. 
who reigned one eventful year over Judah. Ahaziah joined 
forces with Joram, king of Israel, in an attack upon Hazael, 
king of Damascus, for the purpose of recovering Ramoth- 
gilead. The battle went against the allies and Joram was 
carried wounded to Jezreel. Here Ahaziah visited him, and 
during the visit a revolt was raised against the wounded king 
by Jehu, his chief captain, who was crowned by the army and 
marched upon Jezreel. Joram, unaware of the revolution, but 
hearing of Jehu's approach, rose from his sick bed, and in com- 
pany with Ahaziah, his guest, went out to meet Jehu, and 
asked him if the war was ended. The first words of his 
revolted captain undeceived him, and turning in flight, he 
was shot in the back, Ahaziah also being overtaken and slain. 

Jehu now entered Jezreel in triumph, but Jezebel, the 842. 
mother of the slain king, had yet to be reckoned with. Hear- 
ing the news and knowing what her end must be, she met it 
as befitted a queen. Dressed in her royal robes, with her hair 
adorned and her eyes painted in Eastern fashion, she sat on a 
balcony and as Jehu rode past hurled defiance at him : — 

" Welcome to Zimri, the murderer of his master". 

When Jehu raised his head and shouted : " Who is on my 
side?" two or three attendants looked out, and he cried: 
" Throw her down ". He was instantly obeyed by her time- 
serving followers, and the queen was crushed to death under 
horses' hoofs and chariot-wheels. Afterwards, when feast- 
ing, he bade his servants bury her, " for she was a king's t 
daughter," but they found only a few bones — the rest had J 
been devoured by pariah dogs and jackals. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE LAST DAYS OF ISRAEL. 

Having begun thus, Jehu made a clean sweep of Ahab's family, 
and added a massacre of the priests of Baal, but it was less 
religious zeal than political expediency that prompted the 
murders, for Jehu was himself an idolater at heart and little 
better than the men he slew. 

Meanwhile Judah also had seen its tragedy. When Atha- 
liah, the mother of Ahaziah and daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, 

842. heard that her son was slain, rather than that any one else 
should come between her and the throne she slew^^lij^he^sgejj 
royal.. Only one escaped, Joash, who was snatched from the 
cradle by his aunt, the wife of Jehoiada, the high priest, and 
reared secretly in the temple. When he was seven years of 
age, Athaliah's reign having now become obnoxious to the 
people, Jehoiada summoned the priests and chief men to the 
temple and exhibited Joash who was eagerly accepted as king. 
Athaliah, ignorant of what had transpired, but hearing the 
acclamations of the people entered the temple, then perceiving 
her danger fled, but was overtaken and slain. 

837. Joash was but a child when he began to reign and so long 

as Jehoiada lived was wisely guided, but after this priest's 

death he fell off lamentably, and when Zechariah, Jehoiada's 

son, remonstrated and warned him of the fate which must 

overtake him if he forsook God, Joash had him murdered, in 

s pite-of all the kindness which his fatnernad shown. 

At this time Hazael was king of Damascus, and during 

the reign of Jehoahaz, who had succeeded Jehu as king of 

Israel, he had subdued Israel and robbed it of some of its 

(246) 



THE LAST DAYS OF ISEAEL 247 

fairest provinces. Hazael then turned southward, and having 
captured Gath made as if he would attack Jerusalem. Joash, 
who was not a warlike king, bought him off with the treasures 
of the temple and the palace, but he did not long survive the 
disgrace, for a conspiracy was formed against him and he was 
murdered in the fortress of Millo — Amaziah his son reigning 
in his stead. 

During the long reign of Joash in Judah, three kings had 
reigned in Israel : Jehu, Jehoahaz and Jehoash. The last named, 
who succeeded just before the death of Joash, king of Judah, 798. 
encouraged by Elisha, then upon his death-bed, attacked 
the Syrians, and defeated them. Amaziah, the son of Joash. 797. 
was also warlike and, when he had conquered the Edomites 
he rashly determined to cross swords with the king of Israel. 
But Jehoash was too strong for him, his army was routed, 
Jerusalem pillaged, the temple sacked, and the king himself 
captured. He was released, but shortly after was assassinated 768. 
and succeeded by Uzziah his son. Uzziah proved a capable 
monarch, and reigned prosperously. He fortified Jerusalem 
and other cities of Judah, and built towers of defence through- 
out the country. He also encouraged the arts of peace — 
advancing agriculture by irrigation. Unfortunately, in the 
middle of his reign, he was smitten with leprosy, and had to 
depute the active duties of kingship to Jotham his son. mi*M> tAffi 1 ^ 

During this period both Judah and Israel were prosperous. 
Joash, the warlike king of Israel who defeated Amaziah, had 783. 
been succeeded by Jeroboam II., under whom Israel regained 
something of its old position — its power extending across 
Jordan once more. This was partly owing to the weakness 
of Damascus, Israel's great rival, which had been subjugated 
by Assyria. 

During the reign of Jeroboam II. Jonah is mentioned for 
the first time, and we are thus doubly reminded of the great 
power which had arisen in the east. Jonah's visit to Nineveh, 
however, occurred somewhat later, during the reign of Tiglath 
Pileser III. 



248 THE HEBEEWS 

After Jeroboam's death Israel fell into a state of anarchy, 
and two kings, Zechariah and Shallum, were murdered in 
quick succession. 

741. Menahem followed, during whose reign Pul invaded 

738. Israel, and Menahem had to buy him off with 1,000 talents 
of silver. The identity of Pul, the first Assyrian monarch 
mentioned in the Bible, was long a mystery, but it is now 
clear that he was none other than Tiglath-Pileser III. This 
king was a usurper and adopted the name of Tiglath-Pileser 
in Nineveh, but continued to be known widely by his original 
name of Pul. 

737. Menahem was succeeded by Pekahiah his son, but after 

two years there was a mutiny, and Pekahiah was slain by 

736. Pekah, his chief captain, who succeeded him. 

Ahaz, called Jeho-ahaz by the Assyrians, who was now 
upon the throne of Judah, was a weak king, and Pekah and 
Rezon of Damascus formed a coalition against him. They 
attacked Ahaz separately and both were successful — the king 
of Syria carrying many captives to Damascus. Pekah also 
defeated Judah and was carrying away prisoners in similar 
fashion when the misery of the Jews so aroused the non- 
- military part of the Israelites that they turned upon the 
soldiers, compelled them to relinquish their prisoners, and sent 
them back clothed and fed — a bright incident in a somewhat 
gloomy history. 

The tyranny of Pekah and Rezon had an effect they little 

734. contemplated, for Ahaz in despair sought help from Tiglath- 
Pileser III., and the great Assyrian came to the rescue. It 
was too late to prevent the calamities which had already over- 
taken Judah, but they were terribly avenged. Damascus 

732. was crushed, her king slain, her people carried into exile. Israel 
fared no better, several of her provinces were added to Assyria, 
their inhabitants, especially those who lived beyond Jordan, 
were deported and the country made a desert. Pekah, now 

730. reduced to the position of a petty chief, was slain by Hoshea, 
who succeeded him, reigning as vassal of the Assyrian king. 



THE LAST DAYS OF ISEAEL 249 

At last the death of Tiglath-Pileser encouraged the subject 
peoples to strike a blow for freedom and Hoshea rebelled like 
the rest. Shalmaneser IV. now attacked Palestine, and Hoshea 
at first bought him off with money and fair promises, but 
when it afterwards came to the knowledge of Shalmaneser 
that he was intriguing with Egypt, he again invaded 
Palestine and carried the king into captivity. The inhabi- 
tants of Samaria, however, held out bravely, and whilst 
the city was being besieged there was a military revolution 
at Nineveh, and Sargon succeeded to the Assyrian throne. 
Samaria fell soon after the accession of Sargon, and he 722. 
took the leading Israelites into captivity. They were carried 
" into Assyria and placed in Ha I ah, and in Habor the river 
of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes," whilst their places 
were filled by men " from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and 
from Ava, and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim ". 

Probably the poorest of the Israelites remained at home, 
intermarrying with the exiles who had been sent amongst 
them, but from this time the identity of the ten tribes was 
lost and the northern kingdom of Israel came to an end. 

There has been much speculation in modern times con- 
cerning "the lost tribes," and curious theories have been 
started, but there is no mystery about the matter. Sargon 
carried away a certain number of the people, and probably 
a greater portion remained. Of those who remained some 
merged with the older Canaanite population amongst whom 
they dwelt ; others with the foreign colonists who were sent 
from other parts of the Assyrian empire — for it is to be re- 
marked that the fiercely exclusive spirit which abhorred 
mixed marriages did not arise until after the captivity. Some 
of those who were left doubtless kept their identity until the 
return of their friends from the captivity, when they reunited 
with them. Again, of those who were carried into exile some 
mingled with the surrounding inhabitants ; others returned at 
Cyrus' invitation with their brethren of the house of Judah ; 
whilst many remained whose descendants are to be found 



250 THE HEBEBWS 

scattered over Asia to this day. The idea that the ten tribes 
are to be looked for as a homogeneous race in any particular 
country is fanciful. They have never been lost in any other 
sense than the Huguenots were lost when they took refuge 
in England, or the Germans are lost when they emigrate to 
America. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SOLE MONARCHY OF JUDAH. 

The appeal for help made by Ahaz to Assyria had resulted in 734. 
the destruction of both Israel and Damascus, and Judah was 
for the moment freed from anxiety. But the relief had been 
obtained at a great price, for now that there were no buffer 
states between Nineveh and Judah, the Assyrians looked 
covetously at Jerusalem, the strongly- fortified city lying so 
temptingly on the road to Egypt. Isaiah, who flourished 
in the successive reigns between Uzziah and Hezekiah ad- 
vised Ahaz not to seek help from Assyria, but when the 
mischief was done and Judah became tributary, he tried to 
avert the danger of absorption by preserving a pacific policy 
in foreign affairs. 

Partly because her frontier was less accessible to foreign 
foes, and partly because her people were loyal to the descend- 
ants of the kings to whom they owed their greatness, the 
kingdom of Judah had enjoyed more stable government than 
that of Israel ; so that, whilst in Israel there had been many 
dynasties, on the throne of Judah, in spite of both assassina- 
tion and revolution, David's family still reigned. This had 
tended to better administration in civil affairs, but in religious 
matters there had been little difference between the kingdoms, 
both Jew and Israelite being about equally ready to worship 
strange gods. Indeed, the reaction against the worship of 
Baal had begun in Israel, and the great prophets, Elijah and 
Elisha were Israelites. On the whole, however, Judah had 

better kings than Israel, and Hezekiah, who now succeeded 

(251) 



252 THE HEBEEWS 

Ahaz, was one of the best. During his reign there was a 
marked improvement in the national tone : he ruled justly, 
eradicated idolatry, and recovered some of the territory 

722. which Ahaz had lost. 

Sargon had succeeded to the throne of Assyria and was 
endeavouring to restore the empire of Tiglath-Pileser which 
had almost gone to pieces under Shalmaneser IV. On every 

712. side the subject states were fighting for independence, and 
Merodach-baladan, a Babylonian hero, sent an embassy to 
Hezekiah, ostensibly to congratulate him on recovery from 
sickness, but really to concert measures for a general revolt. 
Hezekiah foolishly listened to the Babylonian envoys, but 
next year Sargon overran Judah and the king had to 
submit — ransoming Jerusalem by the payment of a heavy 
fine. 

705. A few years later, Sargon having been assassinated, the 

accession of Sennacherib was the signal for fresh revolts in 
the Assyrian empire, and once more Hezekiah joined the 

701. rebellion. Sennacherib accepted the challenge and marched 
westward, but avoiding Judah for the moment turned down 
the coast of Phoenicia, besieging and capturing many cities 
and receiving tribute and homage from the rest. He got as 
near the frontier of Egypt as Ekron, and the Egyptians 
sent a relieving force to the city, but were defeated at 
Eltekeh and Ekron fell. 

As Hezekiah still held out, Sennacherib now turned upon 
Judah, captured many cities and so pressed Jerusalem that 
the king was again compelled to ransom his capital. Senna- 
cherib was content not to interfere further with Hezekiah 
just then, for he was besieging Lachish and intended there- 
after to invade Egypt, whose army, defeated and dispirited, 
was gloomily watching him from the other side of the 
frontier. At length Lachish fell, and Sennacherib fearing 
to leave a stroi ghcld like Jerusalem unsubdued in his rear, 
sent first an influential embassy and then a haughty letter 
demanding unconditional surrender. Hezekiah in despair 



THE SOLE MONAECHY OE JUDAH 253 

might have yielded, but Isaiah still lived and with his master- 
ful spirit urged the king to refuse compliance, assuring him 
that Sennacherib would not be permitted to carry out his 
threats. 

" The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and 
laughed thee to scorn ; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken 
her head at thee. 

" Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed ? and 
against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine 
eyes on high ? even against the Holy One of Israel. 

" Therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle 
in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which 
thou earnest." 

The idea of putting a hook in the nose was no figure of 
speech to an Assyrian, for they frequently dealt with their 
captives after this fashion. 

The prediction was accomplished, though we scarcely know 
how. Sennacherib was close to the Egyptian border when a 
terrible catastrophe overtook his army, possibly a sudden and 
virulent visitation of the plague, a disease to which Orientals 
quickly succumb. However this may be, the invasion 
abruptly ceased, and the king hastily retreated to his own 
country — never venturing to attack Judah again, although 
he lived for years after this event. 

Hezekiah was succeeded by Manasseh who reigned for 697. 
over fifty years. During the first part of his reign he governed 
disgracefully, undoing the good which his father had done. 
Human sacrifices were offered, and there was bitter religious 
persecution, in the course of which Isaiah was slain. At length 
Manasseh's misgovernment attracted the attention of Assyria, 
and Esarhaddon, invading Judah, carried the king to Babylon 
in chains. The fact, related in Scripture, that Manasseh 
was taken to Babylon instead of Nineveh has been a trouble 
to critics. It appears, however, that Esarhaddon, being 
anxious to win the affections of his Babylonian subjects, 
resided in their capital for half the year, so that captives 



254 THE HEBREWS 

would be brought to Nineveh or Babylon according to 
circumstances. 

Manasseh had leisure to reflect whilst in prison; and, re- 
penting of his evil deeds, was restored to his kingdom and 
ruled well for the rest of his life. 
64 2. Anion succeeded him and did evil like his father, but with- 

out his father's repentance. After a short reign he was 
assassinated. 
640. Josiah his son succeeded at the age of eight, and 

reigned prosperously for thirty years. His prosperity was 
partly due to the fact that Assyria had fallen upon evil 
times. .In the last years of the reign of her great king, Assur- 
bani-pal, enemies had arisen on all sides, and in the short 
reigns of his two successors the empire came utterly to grief. 

The weakness of Assyria during Josiah's reign enabled 
him to win back for Judah some remnant of her former glory, 
and provinces which had been riven from her, even as far 
back as the days of Rehoboam, were again united to the 
kingdom. 

A copy of the Book of the Law was found in the temple, 
and Josiah, shocked to see how far his subjects had departed 
from its precepts, endeavoured to promote a religious reforma- 
tion. He was fortunate in having good counsellors, amongst 
whom was Jeremiah, now rising into notice. 

The Scythian hordes were at this time overrunning 
Western Asia, but though they penetrated as far as Ascalon, 
where Psamatik, the king of Egypt, met them and bribed 
them to turn back, Judsea escaped their notice. 

Assyria had, however, suffered terribly, and before she 
could recover from her prostration her enemies were upon her. 
Pharaoh Necho, the son of Psamatik, either on his own 
account or having joined the alliance of the Medes and 
Babylonians against Assyria, advanced on Carchemish. The 
Egyptian army marched northward by the coast without 
opposition, but when it turned to cross Palestine, Josiah, 
drawing out his forces in defence of his suzerain, gave 



THE SOLE MONAECHY OF JUDAH 255 

battle, and was defeated and slain. His death was a great 608. 
blow to the Jewish state. 

The people crowned Jehoahaz, but in three months Necho, 
who now claimed the suzerainty, deposed him and made 
Jehoiakim king in his stead. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

BY BABEL'S STREAMS. 

The Jews would probably have done well enough under the 
suzerainty of Necho, but unfortunately his tenure of power 
in Asia was destined to be brief. After the fall of Nineveh the 
Assyrian empire was divided, the northern portion going to 
Cyaxares, king of the Medes, the southern to Nabopolassar, 
king of Babylon. If, as is possible, Necho was a confederate, 
the western portion of the empire should have been left to him, 
but a quarrel was picked almost immediately by Nabopolassar, 
and Nebuchadrezzar his son attacked Necho at Carchemish 
and utterly defeated him, driving his army headlong back to 
Egypt. 

The suzerainty of Judah now passed to Babylon ; and Je- 
hoiakim, as Necho's nominee, was not likely to be a favourite. 
Nevertheless he kept peace for three years with Nebuchad- 
rezzar, the reigning monarch. At the end of that time 
he revolted, notwithstanding the earnest remonstrances of 
Jeremiah, who saw in his insensate conduct the doom of the 
kingdom. Matters turned out as Jeremiah had foreseen. Judaea 
fell quickly under the feet of Nebuchadrezzar, Jehoiakim was 
carried in chains to Babylon, and Jehoiachin his son was ap- 
pointed in his stead. The trial of Jehoiachin was, however, 
brief. He was as bad a ruler as any that had gone before, 
and after a few months Nebuchadrezzar came up and besieged 
Jerusalem. Jehoiachin quickly surrendered and was carried 
with his " princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 10,000 
captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths " to Babylon, none 

remaining " save the poorest sort of the people of the land ". 

(256) 



BY BABEL'S STBEAMS 257 

Amongst the captives taken to Babylon at this time were 
Daniel and his companions. 

Nebuchadrezzar, having removed all whom he considered 
likely to revolt, now gave Jerusalem another chance, appoint- 
ing Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, and youngest son of 
Josiah, as king over the impoverished remnant. One would 597. 
have thought that the experience of the past would have 
sufficed, yet with incredible folly and in spite of Jeremiah's 
earnest remonstrances, Zedekiah, after being quiet for nine 
years, began plotting with Egypt, first with Psamatik II., and 
afterwards with Apries, the Pharaoh Hophra of Scripture. 

Nebuchadrezzar lost patience utterly, and once more 
laid siege to Jerusalem. The siege lasted for two years, 
and the sufferings of the Jews were terrible. At length, all 
hope having fled, Zedekiah escaped by night, hoping to reach 
Arabia, but was captured and brought to Riblah, where Nebu- 
chadrezzar had his headquarters. After his children had 
been slain in his presence, Zedekiah was blinded and led 588. 
in chains to Babylon, whilst Jerusalem with its palaces and 
temple was plundered and destroyed. 

There were now two kings of Judah in prison in Babylon, 
Zedekiah and Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim being dead. Zedekiah 
also died, but Jehoiachin survived Nebuchadrezzar and was 
released from prison by his son and successor Evil-Merodach. 

Jeremiah, who had opposed Zedekiah's rebellion and been 
treated with great cruelty on that account, was invited to 
Babylon but would not leave Jerusalem. Over the handful 
who remained as vine dressers and husbandmen, Gedaliah, 
Jeremiah's friend, was left as governor, but he was assassi- 
nated by fugitive soldiers who were now returning under the 
command of Ishmael, one of the seed royal. Gedaliah's sup- 
porters rallied after his death and drove Ishmael from Jerusalem, 
but fearing lest Nebuchadrezzar might return and treat innocent 
and guilty alike, most of the Jews fled to Egypt, carrying 
Jeremiah with them. Concerning the fate of Jeremiah there 

are various traditions — one being that he escaped to Babylon, 

17 



258 THE HEBEEWS 

another that he was killed by the king of Egypt, a third that 
he was murdered by his own countrymen. 
722. When Sargon brought the kingdom of Israel to an end, 

and carried the inhabitants away captive, he scattered them 
widely, but Nebuchadrezzar did not thus treat the exiles of 
Judah, who seem to have settled mostly in the neighbourhood 
of Babylon, dwelling not as slaves but as colonists. As they 
acquired property and prospered greatly many of them pre- 
ferred to remain in Babylonia when their brethren returned 
to Judaea after the captivity. Generally speaking also, they 
had religious freedom, though at times they suffered perse- 
cution. 

The writings of Daniel and Ezekiel teem with allusions to 
things seen in Babylon, and the strange symbolic creatures 
which they describe are taken from Babylonian imagery. 

Whilst many of the exiles were content with their lot, the 
more patriotic looked longingly back to their native land, and 
some of the psalms speak plaintively of this period. Babylonia 
presented a striking contrast to the mountainous country of 
Judah, for it was quite flat and interspersed with rivers and 
canals, along the banks of which polled willows grew, just as 
in the fen countries of our own land. All this was new to the 
exiles and they pathetically sang : — 

" By the rivers of Babylon, 
There we sat down, yea, we wept, 
When we remembered Zion. 
Upon the willows in the midst thereof 
We hanged up our harps, 

For there they that led us captive required of us songs, 
And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, 
Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 
How shall we sing the Lord's song 
In a strange land ? " 

Amongst the exiles the most distinguished was Daniel. 
He and his friends were educated with care in Babylon, and 
although their faithfulness to God brought them into trouble 
at times, in the main they were well treated and highly 



BY BABEL'S STEBAMS . 259 

esteemed. Daniel became a satrap of the empire, and the 
respect in which he was held is testified by the fact that 
he served several monarchs in succession. 

During the captivity the exiles never lost hope. Jeremiah 
had limited the period to seventy years, and both Isaiah and 
he had spoken of a time when Jerusalem should be restored 
and Babylon herself should sit in the dust. For this the exiles 
waited, and as they waited, the balance of power slowly shifted, 
until Cyrus, king of Elam, having conquered Astyages became 
king also of the Medes and Persians, and with a great force 
/ marched on Babylon. The elaborate account of the siege of 
Babylon, mentioned by the classical writers as belonging to the 
reign of Cyrus, really refers to a later reign. An inscription of 
Cyrus himself declares that after one pitched battle, first Sip- 
para and then Babylon opened their gates to his army without 
/ fighting, and it is not unlikely that the Jews and other exiles 
dwelling in Babylonia at the time helped to bring about the 
result. At all events Cyrus, whether out of gratitude or from 
policy, in the very first year of his reign issued an edict 
[ authorising all exiles who desired it to return to their homes. 
Amongst those who availed themselves of the opportunity 
were many Jews, who were evidently in great favour and 
were encouraged not only to return to Judsea but to rebuild 
their temple. 

- The migration of the Jewish exiles was directed by Zerub- 537 
( babel and Jeshua, the former being a descendant of David, the 
/ latter hereditary high priest. The number of exiles mentioned 
' as having returned is 42,000, but as these may have been 
heads of families, the total, including women and children, 
might be 200,000. Those who preferred to remain in Baby- 
lonia helped the expedition with gifts, and Cyrus kindly 
restored such of the vessels of the temple as were still in 
existence. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE RESTORATION. 

The journey of so great a company must have been tedious,, 
but at length it was over and " the people gathered themselves 
together as one man to Jerusalem ". The foundations of the 
temple were laid with rejoicing, but the work was wearisome 
and often interrupted, The surrounding tribes — mixed people,, 
with a mixed religion — coveted a share in the honour of build- 
ing the temple, and when their offers were rejected with 
apparently needless scorn, they became bitter enemies. From 
that time they " weakened the hands of the people of Judah, 
and troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against 
them to frustrate their purpose ". Thus several years were 
wasted, a period embracing the latter part of the reign of 
Cyrus and the whole of the reign of his son, Cambyses. 

521. On the accession of Darius Hystaspis to the throne of 

Persia a new departure was made ; and when the Samaritans 
again interfered, Darius confirmed the decree of Cyrus, and 
ordered that every assistance should be given to the Jews in 
their work. From this time the building made rapid progress, 

515. and at last the second temple was finished and dedicated. 
The last five Psalms are believed to have been written for 
this ceremony. 

During the half century which followed the dedication of 
the temple very important events transpired. Darius invaded 
Europe and attacked Greece with disastrous results ; and when, 

485. after his death, Xerxes again invaded Greece, the consequences 

were fatal to Persian prestige. Xerxes was the Ahasuerus of 

Scripture, and the feasting spoken of in Esther happened in 

(260) 



THE EESTOEATION 261 

the third year of his reign, when he was receiving the governors 
from the various provinces of his empire, and arranging the 
details of the contemplated expedition. The events in which 
Haman played a part happened later — when the king had 
returned discomfited and was living at Susa. 

The fact that only a small number of the Jews returned to 
their native country is verified by this striking story. The 
rest of them were scattered widely over the Persian empire, 
and Haman, out of a grudge against Mordecai, determined to 
destroy them and to enrich himself with their spoil. He man- 
aged to get the consent of Xerxes, concealing from him the 
full extent of his project and blinding his eyes with a promise 
to pay 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasury. The 
design was frustrated by the wisdom of Mordecai and the 
devotion of Esther, and Haman was condemned to death. 
" Had we been sold for slaves, I had held my tongue, although^ 
the enemy could not countervail the king's damage, but we I 
are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to 
perish." 

The story of Esther is full of those historical side-lights 
which so strikingly confirm the Scriptures. From that day to 
this the anniversary of the great deliverance has been observed 
by the Jewish people. At the Feast of Purim when the Book 
of Esther is read, all sexes and ages being present, at the name 
of Haman the congregation clap their hands and stamp with 
their feet, crying : " Let his memory perish ". 

Xerxes was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I., whose 465. 
reign was favourable to the Jews. Artaxerxes appointed 
Ezra, a man of priestly descent, to be governor of Judaea, and 
in going up from Babylon the new governor took with him 
many priests and Levites and large offerings of silver and 
gold. Ezra found that the religious zeal of the preceding 
emigrants had spent itself ; as after rebuilding the temple 
they had settled down comfortably amongst their neighbours 
and had become very lax in their ways. He checked this 
laxity, forbade mixed marriages and insisted on a hard line 



262 THE HEBEEWS 

of separation, and from this time a spirit of rigid exclusiveness 
gradually took possession of the Jews. 

445. From the time of Ezra's reforms until the twentieth year 

of Artaxerxes we have no record ; but in that year the king 
appointed Nehemiah governor of Judaea, and sent him to 
Jerusalem with a commission to rebuild its walls and fortifica- 
tions. How far the Persian king was influenced by a desire 
to favour the Jews, and how far he acted from political motives 
we cannot say. Persia was weak now, and it suited her to 
have a friendly fortress in Palestine, nor did the Jews 
betray the confidence of their benefactors for they remained 
faithful to Persia to the end. 

Nehemiah had many difficulties to overcome. The day 
had gone by when the decree of the great king was received 
with unquestioning loyalty by the outlying peoples, and the 
workers had to build with weapons at hand. Nor were Nehe- 
miah's troubles over when the work of building had been 
accomplished. There was much misery among the people ; 
many had fallen into debt and been compelled to mortgage 
their land, and even to sell their children to their richer 
brethren. Nehemiah compelled restitution, and in so doing 
made enemies who even attempted to murder him. As his 
appointment was temporary he returned after a time to the 

433. Persian court, but was re-appointed, and returning to Jeru- 
salem was able still further to prosecute his civil and religious 
reforms. 

Shortly after his return to Jerusalem an incident occurred 

432. which proved in the end of much consequence. Manasseh, a 
priest of high rank, was expelled from Jerusalem for refusing 
to separate from his Samaritan wife — the daughter of San- 
ballat, the Horonite. The result was the building of the rival 
temple on Mount Gerizim and the organisation of the Samaritan 
church and worship after the Jewish model. Up to this time 
the Samaritans had been willing to have fellowship with the 
Jews, but now the temple on Gerizim was their symbol of 
independence and the communities ceased to have intercourse. 



THE EESTOEATION 263 

Artaxerxes, the patron of Ezra and Nehemiah, died after 425. 
a reign of forty years. Ezra died during Nehemiah's first 
term of office, and after Nehemiah's death Jewish history 
is for a long time almost a blank. During the early part of 
this period the Persian power sank rapidly. There were wars 
on every side and Judaea must occasionally have suffered, but 
for the most part it seems to have been neglected by the 
combatants. 

At length Persia was invaded by Alexander the Great. 334. 
The fidelity of the Jews to their Persian benefactors drew 
upon them his resentment and he advanced upon Jerusalem, 
but the high priest met him with submissive words and dis- 
armed his enmity. When he died and his empire was divided, 323. 
Palestine fell into the hands of Laomedon. Somewhat later 
Ptolemy seized it, his general, Nicanor, capturing Jerusalem 
on the Sabbath Day, the defenders offering no resistance. 
Ptolemy favoured the Jews and persuaded many of them to 
settle in Egypt, where, during the reigns of the early kings of 
his dynasty, they were well treated and prospered. After 
this Judaea changed hands several times, being now under the 
rule of the Ptolemies and now under the Syro-Grecian dynasty 
of Antioch, but the suzerain left the government very much 
in the hands of the high priest. Unfortunately there was 
much civil contention between the members of the Jewish 
nobility, and the priesthood became merely a means of 
aggrandisement . 

Antiochus Epiphanes, a violent and unscrupulous man, 176. 
now succeeded to the throne of Syria. Angry at something 
the Jews had done or left undone, he determined to make 
their subjugation a reality, and accordingly captured Jerusalem 
and massacred many of its citizens. Not content with this he 
fell upon the city a second time, demolished its fortifications 
and built a citadel on the mound called Millo or Acra to over- 
awe the inhabitants. Perceiving how entirely Jewish religion 
and nationality were bound together he determined to Hellenise 
the people and root out their faith. Accordingly he desecrated 



264 THE HEBREWS 

every part of the temple, and laid an interdict on the worship 
of Jehovah throughout Judaea. Heathen altars were erected 
in the provincial towns, and horrible cruelties perpetrated on 
those who refused to conform — many, both in the capital and 
provinces, suffering martyrdom. Yet though some were bribed 
and some terrorised into heathenism, the majority stood firm. 
At first there was no thought of armed resistance, the people 
fled and Jerusalem was deserted. Some went to Egypt, while 
many hid themselves in the caves and fastnesses with which 
Judsea abounded. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

JUDAS MACCABEUS. 

For a time it seemed as if the policy of Antiochus was to 
triumph. In Jerusalem there was a strong Hellenist party, 
and of the orthodox minority most either yielded to coercion 
or left the capital. In the provinces, however, the work was 
not so easy. The simple-minded villagers clung with tenacity 
to the customs and beliefs of their forefathers, and were en- 
couraged in their resistance to the king's edicts by the faithful 
men who had fled from Jerusalem rather than conform to 
heathenism. Amongst these was an aged priest Mattathias, 
who with five sons, all grown to manhood, had left the capital 
and was living at Modin — a village on the main road from 
Jerusalem to Lydda. His family traced its descent from 
Aaron, and derived the name of Hasmonean from Hasmon, 
the great-grandfather of Mattathias. When the commissioner 
came to Modin to enforce the edict, he tried to bribe Mattathias, 
but the old man slew the first Jew who dared to sacrifice on 
the idolatrous altar which had been erected, and then falling 
upon the commissioner slew him also. He and his sons then 
drove the Greeks out of the village, tore down every vestige 
of idolatry, and took to the mountains where they were soon 
joined by the most daring of their countrymen. The names 
of the sons of Mattathias were Johanan, Simon, Judas Macca- 
bseus, Eleazar and Jonathan, and each was brave and talented 
in his own way, but the ablest was Judas, who soon found 
himself at the head of a band of resolute men and became 
more powerful every day. 

At length Apollonius, the governor of Samaria, determined 168. 

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266 THE HEBEEWS 

to crush the patriots, and advanced with a local levy, but was 
defeated and slain. This brought matters under the notice of 
Antiochus himself, and he, thinking to make short work of 
the rebellion, sent regular troops under Seron, the governor 
of Coele-Syria. Judas had but a handful in comparison, but 

166. he chose a position where he had advantage of ground, and 
falling suddenly upon the enemy defeated them utterly. 

Antiochus, who had departed on a campaign to the east,. 
had left Lysias as regent and guardian of his son, and he now 
took the field with 50,000 men. The vanguard of the army 
numbering 8,000 was under the command of Gorgias, who 
attempted to surprise Judas by advancing rapidly with 5,000 
men, leaving 3,000 to guard his camp. Judas was apprised of 
his approach and instead of waiting for him, adroitly slipped 
past, and when Gorgias returned, weary with his vain search 
upon the mountains, it was to find his camp in flames, where- 
upon his men, panic-stricken, fled without striking a blow. 
The extraordinary success of Judas drew many to his stan- 
dard, and when Lysias came up more carefully with the main 
body of his army, he also suffered defeat. 

After these disasters Lysias left Judsea alone for a time, 
and Judas recovered Jerusalem and the adjacent country, 
though the Tower of Millo which dominated the city remained 
in Syrian hands. As Judas could not capture this tower, he 
blockaded it ; and then, having purified and reconsecrated the 

165. temple, arranged for the resumption of its sacred services. 

Nor was Judas content with the recovery of Jerusalem. 
The Jews were widely scattered and greatly at the mercy of 
the heathen, especially in the provinces across Jordan, and 
Judas made several daring expeditions for their protection 

164. and relief. Meanwhile Antiochus Epiphanes died, and was suc- 
ceeded by Antiochus V. (Eupator), his second son — Demetrius, 
the heir, being a hostage at Rome. Lysias now made another 
effort to conquer the Jews, and the size of his army, and the 
elephants by which it was accompanied, so alarmed the fol- 
lowers of Judas that they fell back upon the capital. For- 



JUDAS MACCABEUS 267 

tunately for them trouble at home made it impossible for 
Lysias to follow up his advantage, and a peace was made 
with Judas by which religious freedom was secured to the 
nation. 

Next year Demetrius escaped from Rome, and having after 
a successful revolution slain both Lysias and his younger 
brother, he continued to harass the Jews until Judas, de- 
spairing of permanently holding his own against so great a 
power as Syria, sent ambassadors to Rome to crave protection. 
The ambassadors were favourably received, and a treaty was 
entered into, but before the embassy returned, Judaea had 
been again invaded and a battle fought at Elasa in which 160. 
Judas Maccabseus was slain. 

It is scarcely possible to speak too highly of this brave 
leader, who deservedly occupies a first place amongst national 
heroes. Fortunately after his death much of his work re- 
mained, for religious freedom was not interfered with after 
the convention with Lysias, and the struggle for national 
independence which still went on was of secondary import- 
ance. 

Jonathan was chosen in succession to Judas, and remained 
leader for eighteen years. Though not a hero after the type 
of his brother, he was an excellent diplomatist ; and as there 
were rival claimants to the throne of Antioch he contrived by 
playing off one against the other to gain many advantages for 
his country. At last, however, he was treacherously taken 
and slain. 

The great family was not yet extinct, and Simon, the 143. 
eldest, and in administration the ablest of the brothers, 
succeeded to the leadership. Simon, who was a calm and 
prudent man, set himself to consolidate that which had been 
acquired, securing the frontier by fortresses, gaining at last 
the fortress which had galled Jerusalem for so long a time, 
fortifying Joppa and renewing the league with Rome. The 
Roman Senate sent letters to their provinces announcing that 141. 
they had taken the Jews under their protection, and the fact 



268 THE HEBEEWS 

that it was thought necessary to send these to Syria, Pergamus, 
Cappadocia, Parthia, Sparta, Sicyon, Delos, Crete, Samos, Cos, 
Rhodes, Myndus, Cnidus, Lycia, Pamphylia, Cyprus, Phoenicia 
and Cyrene shows how widely the Jews were scattered abroad. 

For a time the Jewish nation was practically independent, 
enjoying immunity from tribute and coining its own money, 
but Simon was assassinated, Antiochus Sidetes invaded Judaea 
135. and Syria became once more suzerain. A few years later 
Antiochus fell in an expedition against the Parthians, and 
John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon, succeeded him, governing so 
well that Judsea recovered something of her earlier prosperity. 
Samaria and Idumea were subdued, the temple at Gerizim 
destroyed, the country freed from tribute, and the area of 
its possessions so enlarged that it seemed as if a Hebrew 
monarchy might again be established. 

But party spirit ran very high amongst the Jews, and 
prevented that consolidation which is essential to success. 
They were divided into two great sections, the Pharisees and 
the Sadducees, in their form something akin to the parties 
which have been found in so many countries — the Puritan and 
the Cavalier, the men of intense religious zeal and the men 
who chiefly desire to eat, drink and be merry. 

The Maccabees and their followers were Pharisees — heroism 
and religious enthusiasm being inseparably blended in their 
characters. Unfortunately religion may degenerate into for- 
malism, and men who have gained freedom for themselves are 
not always keenly anxious that it should be enjoyed by others. 
Hence, it came to pass, that as time went on and the early 
heroes passed away, prosperity tried the people more than 
adversity, and there came to be much partizanship and little 
religious feeling in their divisions. 

John Hyrcanus was a Pharisee by birth, but in his later 
days a coldness had sprung up between him and his party, and 
he had leaned towards the Sadducees. His immediate suc- 
cessors, Aristobulus and Alexander Jannseus, broke with the 
Pharisees entirely and for some years there was bitter civil 



JUDAS MACCABEUS 269 

strife. After Alexander's death his widow declared her alle- 77. 
gianee to the Pharisees, and was so well supported by them 
that she ruled prosperously for nine years. When she died 
the leading men in the state were Hyrcanus II., who had been 
made high priest during her life, and succeeded to the civil 
power at her death ; Aristobulus, his brother, an active and 
ambitious man ; and Antipater, an Idumaean, Hyrcanus' con- 
fidential friend and prime minister. Hyrcanus had little 
ambition and would gladly have made way for Aristobulus, 
but Antipater, who was practically ruler, persuaded him to 
maintain his position by arms, and civil war went on until 
Rome interfered between the rivals, and Pompey captured 
Jerusalem after a three months' siege. The Roman general 63. 
treated the Jews with lenity and, except that he offended 
them by personally inspecting the Holy of Holies, spared 
their religious feelings. He placed Hyrcanus upon the throne 
as friend and ally of the Roman people and sent Aristobulus to 
Rome a prisoner. After a time Aristobulus escaped and raised 
an insurrection, but was captured by Gabinius and sent back 
to Rome. Gabinius tried the effect of decentralisation upon 
the Jewish state, depriving the high priest of supreme power 
and vesting it in five independent oligarchic councils, sitting 
at Jerusalem, Jericho, Gadara, Amathus and Sepphoris, but 
such an arrangement was not likely to last, and it does not 
seem to have lessened the feeling of national unity amongst 
the people. 

The civil war in the Roman empire between Caesar and 
Pompey had now broken out ; and Antipater, acting nominally 
for Hyrcanus but really for himself, at first espoused the 
cause of Pompey, but after the battle of Pharsalus went over 
to Caesar's side and gave him invaluable aid when he was in 48. 
peril at Alexandria. Caesar did not forget this ; and, when his 
own position was secure, he appointed Antipater procurator of 
Judaea — Hyrcanus remaining high priest. 

The position of the Jewish nation was now greatly im- 
proved, the oligarchies were abolished, various conquests re- 



270 THE HEBEEWS 

stored, and the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. Antipater, who 
continued in favour at Rome, appointed his elder son to the 
government of Jerusalem, his younger son Herod he made 
governor of Galilee. Herod was a man of daring and decision, 
and on occasions showed qualities worthy of kingship, but the 
circumstances which surrounded him brought out the worst 
side of his character. 

The rule of Antipater, his father, had been advantageous 
to the Jews, but they could not forget that he had gained 
power at the expense of their favourite Maccabsean family 
and their attitude towards Herod showed hostility up to 
the limits of prudence. The Sanhedrin crossed swords with 
him when he was a young man, calling him to account for 
the arbitrary execution of a robber chief, but the defiant 
manner in which he treated them made them glad to let him 
go. 
43. At last Antipater was murdered, and the power fell into 

the hands of Phasael and Herod. Against these Antigonus, 
the Maccabeean heir contended, and so successfully that Phasael 
committed suicide, whilst Herod fled to Rome. There, how- 
ever, he won Antony's friendship ; and shortly after, when 
Judaea was rent by dissension between the various parties, 
Antony cut the knot by sending Herod back to Jerusalem as 
kinp\ 



CHAPTER XVII 

HEROD. 

Having the title of king and the support of Rome, Herod soon 37. 
surmounted opposition and set himself to consolidate his power. 
He reorganised the Sanhedrin,slew forty-five leading opponents, 
and put his own supporters in high places. He abolished the 
life tenure of the high priests' office, and brought it under 
the secular power. The Sadducees, who had been his leading 
opponents, were reduced to insignificance ; but the Pharisees, 
who had opposed the union of the high priesthood and the 
civil power in one person, gained influence. Herod's greatest 
danger arose from the rivalry of the Maccabseans, and in order 
to conciliate their supporters he married Mariamne, a member 
of the popular family, by whom he had two sons who were 
greatly beloved by the people. 

Herod had many enemies, and every effort was made to 
poison Antony's mind against him. He managed to keep 
out of the quarrel between Antony and Octavius ; and when 
the battle of Actium decided the question in favour of the 
latter, he confirmed Herod in his government and even 
increased the area of the territory which was under his rule. 

For some years Herod did Judsea excellent service. He- 
rebuilt Samaria and founded Csesarea, a city on the sea-shore, 
with a fine breakwater and palatial buildings. During his 
reign there was a serious famine in Judaea accompanied by 
pestilence. Herod behaved admirably at this crisis, putting 
all his wealth at the disposal of the sufferers ; importing grain 
from Egypt, and supplying seed corn to the people. 

He made a great bid for popularity by undertaking to 20. 

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272 THE HEBEEWS 

rebuild the temple. The second temple, which had been built 
by Zerubbabel, was now five centuries old, of rude construc- 
tion and greatly dilapidated. Yet, even so, Herod had to 
make his preparations for the new building before daring to 
touch the old, lest the Jews should think that he meant to 
destroy the temple altogether. But he acted in good faith, 
and at last the new building arose, stately and magnificent 
in marble and gold. Yet the erection of the temple did not 
suffice to give the Jews confidence in Herod, for, whilst he 
professed zeal for the Jewish religion, he did much in opposi- 
tion to it. A conspiracy was formed to assassinate him, and, 
though it was discovered and the ringleaders were punished, 
he felt the insecurity of his position and built the tower of 
Antonia, commanding the temple, in order that he might quell 
riots and take refuge there in time of danger. 

In considering Herod's character allowance must be made 
for him because of the misery of his domestic life. His foes 
were they of his own household. His arch enemy was Salome, 
his sister, an unscrupulous and bloodthirsty woman who had 
great influence over him and used it to his destruction. Herod 
was passionately attached to Mariamne, his Maccabsean wife. 
Salome hated this excellent woman and made mischief between 
her and her husband so successfully that at last Herod ordered 
Mariamne to be put to death. 

The queen died with great dignity, and his remorse was 
instant and terrible, his life being from that moment steeped 
in gloom, broken only by flashes of vindictive madness. 

Herod had several wives and many sons. The eldest was 
Antipater, the son of Doris his first wife, whom he had divorced 
when he wedded Mariamne. The second and third sons were 
Aristobulus and Alexander, born to him by his martyred wife. 
Antipater lived in exile, and on Aristobulus and Alexander 
Herod lavished his affection. They were educated at Rome, 
from which city they returned highly accomplished, and as the 
Maccabsean blood flowed in their veins they were the idols of 
the people. The detestable Salome, fearing lest they might 



HEEOD 273 

take vengeance on her for their mother's death, set herself 
to undermine their influence with their father, and persuaded 
him to recall Antipater, with whom she plotted against their 
lives. At length the intriguers worked Herod to such a 5. 
pitch of frenzy that he ordered the execution of the youths, 
and scarcely was it over when he learned that he had been 
miserably deceived. 

His brother Pheroras who lay dying was so touched by 
Herod's kindness in visiting him that he confessed himself to 
have been in a plot to poison him, the other conspirators being 
Herod's wife and Antipater his son. Antipater was then in 
Rome, and, when he unsuspectingly returned, he was arrested. 
His guilt being proved sentence of death was passed, subject 
to confirmation at Rome. 

Herod was now an old man, and dying from an incurable 
disease. His last days were pitiable. He had murdered his 
beloved wife and his favourite sons at the bidding of his 
fiendish sister, who even yet kept her influence over him, and 
now he was awaiting the confirming order which would give 
him power to slay his first born. 

It was about this time that the " massacre of the innocents " 
took place, the tragedy with which Herod's name is for ever 
associated. There is no record of it in profane history, but 
that is not wonderful, for it was but an incident in Herod's 
life. Bethlehem was a small town, and the number of male 
children in it from two years old and under would not be so 
great that their death need attract much notice. The king's 
death-bed was a terrible one. In his agony he attempted to 
commit suicide but was prevented. Consent had arrived for 
him to deal with Antipater as he wished. Perhaps he might 
have forgiven him, but at the last he heard of further plotting 
and ordered him to be slain. 

Herod's last act was one of savage cruelty. He was 
lying at Jericho, and, determined that there should be mourn- 
ing at his funeral, he summoned the leading Jews to attend 

him ; and, when m any assembled, he had them shut up in the 

18 



274 THE HBBEEWS 

hippodrome. He then called his sister Salome, whose cruelty- 
he thought he could trust, and instructed her to see that they 
were massacred as soon as he was dead, but even Salome dared 
not carry out such orders, and released them. 

So much confidence had the Romans in Herod that they 
had given him power to bequeath his kingdom to whom he 
would, subject to imperial confirmation. Accordingly he left 
the kingdom to Archelaus, whilst Antipas became tetrarch of 
Galilee, and Philip governor of Csesarea. Archelaus therefore 
nominally "reigned in his stead," but he was never legally 
king, for his kingship was not confirmed by Rome. The 
Romans gave him temporarily the position of ethnarch, and 
refused the kingship until they saw whether he was worthy 
of it. After ten years of misgovernment an embassy consist- 
ing of both Jews and Samaritans went to Rome, lodged heavy 
complaints against him, and besought the emperor to depose 
him. Accordingly he was deposed and banished, and Judsea 
placed under procurators. Herod the Great was, therefore, 
the last of the vassal kings, and with him the sceptre may 
be said to have departed from Judah. The Shiloh had come. 

The scheme of the present work makes it necessary to 
interrupt the history of the Jewish race at the dawn of the 
Christian era. The siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, and 
other interesting events yet to be narrated must therefore be 
left for another volume. 






PHOENICIA. 



PHCENICIA. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Phoenicia was the name given by the Greeks to the strip of 
land lying on the Levant, between the mountains of Lebanon 
and the sea. Like the Greeks the Phoenicians prided them- 
selves on their autonomy, and lived separately in their cities, 
having no common name but that of Canaanites, a name which 
applied equally to the inhabitants of the inland districts occu- 
pied by the Hebrews. The mountains came so near the shore 
that Phoenicia was but thirty miles across in its widest part, 
and in most places much narrower. Its length never exceeded 
300 miles, and during the period concerning which we have 
most historic knowledge it was only about 120 miles long. 
Small, however, though the territory was, it was extremely 
diversified in character, having plains, like that of Sharon, 
of great beauty, and hills varying from the gentle heights of 
Carmel to the snow-clad mountains of Lebanon. 

On their narrow strip of land the Phoenicians had twenty- 
five cities, of which, Tyre, Sidon, Aradus, Byblus, Marathus 
and Tripolis were specially important ; Laodicea, Simyra, Arka, 
Aphaca, Berytus, Ecdippa, Accho, Dor and Joppa were of 
secondary importance ; whilst Gabala, Botrys, Sarepta and the 
rest were smaller still. 

Having so little territory and so large a population the 
Phoenicians had to make the most of their space. Irri- 
gation was freely adopted, and the slopes of the mountains 

terraced, in order to widen the area of arable land. The 

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278 PHCENICIA 

country produced food abundantly, but the non-agricultural 
section of the community was large, and food had often to be 
imported. Thus, when the Tyrians were helping Solomon to 
build the temple in Jerusalem, he recompensed them with 
quantities of wheat, barley, wine and oil ; and at a later time, 
when trouble arose between Herod and Tyre and Sidon, the 
Phoenician ambassadors desired peace " because their country 
was fed from the king's country ". 

The Phoenicians belonged to the Semitic branch of the 
human family, and there is a theory that they came from the 
Persian Gulf, but we know nothing definite about them until 
we find them on the shores of the Mediterranean — a race 
of indefatigable merchants and explorers, their towns all sea- 
ports, their only thought, how best to push commerce wherever 
it could be pushed. 

The Phoenicians did not excel in either architecture or 
aesthetic art, though the work done for Solomon shows that 
they were not without skill even in these branches. Their 
architecture was, however, heavy, and their aesthetic art primi- 
tive in character, but their industrial art was celebrated from 
the remotest times. 

In the field of literature the Phoenicians have left nothing 
in book form worthy of preservation, but they are credited 
with having been the first to depart from the clumsy and 
elaborate method of writing in pictorial and cuneiform char- 
acters, and to introduce the simpler letters upon which modern 
language is based. Other inventions in science and art are 
attributed to them ; in arithmetic, weights and measures, glass 
manufacture, coinage, navigation and astronomy ; and if they 
did not actually invent, they must at any rate have the credit 
of developing these things, and of introducing them to the 
peoples of the Mediterranean. 

The religious sentiment was strong amongst the Phoenicians, 
as it has usually been amongst Semitic and seafaring races. 
Phoenician names were frequently given in honour of a 
deity, and there are many other signs that the gods were held 



THE COUNTEY AND ITS PEOPLE 279 

in reverence. In early times they acknowledged one deity, 
speaking of him under different names, but in historic times 
they were polytheists, idolaters of the ordinary sort, and their 
gods were much the same as those of the surrounding nations. 
Baal was their chief god ; Ashtoreth, the queen of heaven, 
was greatly worshipped; at Tyre there was a magnificent 
temple to Melkarth, otherwise known as Hercules ; and they 
had other gods — Hadad, Dagon, Adonis and the rest. Worship 
was conducted with prayer, praise and sacrifice ; and festivals 
were held in honour of special deities. As time went on, the 
religion of the Phoenicians became both fierce and sensual. A 
graphic picture of their worship is given in the Bible where 
Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a controversy. At 
that time Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, was queen in Israel, and 
we read that the prophets, doubtless Phoenicians, "cried aloud, 
and cut themselves after their manner with knives and 
lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them ". Sometimes 
human sacrifices were offered. Melkarth was the local name 
for Moloch, who was supposed to reign supreme in time of 
war, pestilence and famine. On such occasions he had to 
be appeased, and when the occasion was important, human 
sacrifices were offered. We have not much information con- 
cerning these sacrifices in Phoenicia, owing to the absence of 
literary remains, but in Carthage there was a statue specially 
designed to receive them. However terrible such worship 
might be, it was doubtless sincere, and the offering of a child, 
horrible though it seems, may sometimes have been the des- 
pairing cry of a soul seeking to propitiate God, by giving him 
that which was more precious to the offerer than life itself. 



CHAPTER II. 

INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. 

As merchants and industrial pioneers the Phoenicians were long 
unrivalled. Centuries before Rome was founded or Greece heard 
of in history, when Egypt was bound up in herself, or, if she 
sent armies forth, sent them only to plunder and destroy, whilst 
the Hebrews were yet in the house of bondage, and neither 
Assyria nor Babylonia had given sign of greatness, the ships 
of this extraordinary people were sailing far and wide, peace- 
fully exchanging wares with all who desired to sell or to buy. 

The Phoenicians were famous for their dyes. They had 
discovered that a shellfish on their coast secreted a tiny drop 
of fluid from which a dye could be extracted capable of being 
used in many gradations of colour, and so beautiful that the 
value of fabrics treated with it was increased tenfold. Cloth 
thus dyed was used by royalty, and the wealthy, but humbler 
people liked to have a little of it on their garments, if only a 
ribbon or narrow fringe. When the home fisheries became 
exhausted, the Phoenicians searched elsewhere for the shell- 
fish, gradually ransacking the Mediterranean and establishing 
depots at suitable places to which the natives brought the fish 
that it might be treated on the spot by skilful hands, only the 
valuable fluid being carried back to Phoenicia. 

Trade, beginning in this simple way, soon expanded. Money 
was little used in those days, and would have been worthless 
to the native populations in any case. Trading was carried 
on by means of barter, and textile fabrics of all sorts 
— linen, woollen, cotton and silk, besides bronze work, glass, 

pottery, jewellery, arms and ornaments — were manufactured 

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INDUSTEY AND COMMEECB 281 

by the Phoenicians, and exchanged against whatever their cus- 
tomers had to give. In those days most ornaments, weapons 
and implements, were made of bronze which is an amalgam 
of copper and tin. Copper the Phoenicians obtained easily in 
Cyprus, but tin was harder to find, and in their search for it 
they went far afield. It was indeed thought that they ventured 
as far as Britain, sailing by way of the Straits of Gibraltar. It 
is known that they visited the Cassiterides or Tin Islands, and 
these were believed to be identical with the Scilly Isles, but 
recent historians incline to the belief that the Cassiterides 
were small islands off the coast of Galicia in Spain, and think 
that if the Phoenicians obtained tin from Britain it must have 
come across France to the Mediterranean. 

The trade of Phoenicia was not confined to the Medi- 
terranean, nor restricted to maritime enterprise. Lying be- 
tween east and west, Phoenicia was a convenient emporium for 
the produce of the known world, and her merchants became 
ubiquitous. They were to be found in Egypt, Babylon, 
Nineveh, Arabia and Persia. From Tyre and Sidon caravan 
routes diverged in many directions, and bodies of merchants 
keeping together for the sake of protection were continually 
on the move. 

Trading operations on so wide a scale could not be carried 
on without permanent stations, and stations developed into 
settlements, settlements into colonies, with a rapidity which 
was the greater because their territory was small and they 
could only overflow into the sea. We cannot tell in what 
order their colonies were established, but they had cities on 
the shores of the Black Sea, in Thrace, Greece, the Islands of 
the iEgean, Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, 
Spain and Africa. In Africa the important cities of Utica and 
Carthage were founded, and Lixos beyond the Straits of Gib- 
raltar. Beyond Lixos, towards the Senegal, there were nearly 
300 depots for gathering the ivory and other valuables brought 
by the natives. In Spain they built the important city of 
Gades, a city now well known as Cadiz, and still prosperous. 



282 PHCENICIA 

On the Guadalquivir lay the town and district of Tarshish, with 
a surrounding country rich in precious metals, producing fine 
wool, and overflowing with oil, and wine and wheat. Wonder- 
ful tales are told of the wealth extracted by the Phoenicians 
from Spain ; and, leaving a margin for exaggeration, it 
must have been very great, justifying the poetic fervour of 
Zechariah when he says : " Tyre did build herself a strong- 
hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the 
mire of the streets ". 

Ezekiel draws a vivid picture of Tyre in her greatness : 
" thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the 
merchant of the peoples unto many isles. Thy borders are in 
the heart of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. 
They have made all thy planks of fir trees from Senir : they 
have taken cedars from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of 
the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars ; they have 
made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the Isles 
of Cyprus. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt 
was thy sail, blue and purple from the Isles of the Mge&n 
was thine awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Aradus 
were thy rowers : thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they 
were thy pilots. Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the 
multitude of all kinds of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, 
they traded for thy wares. Javan, Tubal, and Mesech they 
were thy traffickers : they traded the persons of men and 
vessels of brass for thy merchandise. They of the house of 
Armenia traded for thy wares with horses and war-horses and 
mules. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of 
thy handiworks : they traded for thy wares with emeralds, 
purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies. 
Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers : they 
traded for thy merchandise wheat, and honey, and oil, and 
balm. Damascus was thy merchant with the wine of Helbon 
and white wool. Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths 
for riding. Arabia in lambs, and rams and goats. Sheba and 
Piaamah traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with 



INDUSTEY AND COMMEECE 283 

all precious stones and gold. Haran and Canneh and Eden, 
Asshur and Chilmad, in choice wares, in bales of blue and 
broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with 
cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. When thy 
wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples ; 
thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of 
thy riches and of thy merchandise. And thou hast said, I am 
a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas." 



CHAPTER III. 

GREATNESS. 

We first touch Phoenician history in connection with the reign 
1500. of Thothmes III., the Egyptian conqueror, who during his long 
reign of fifty-four years subdued Canaan, and made it into a 
province. The cities had to send tribute and the most im- 
portant of them were placed under Egyptian governors, but 
otherwise they were probably not much interfered with. The 
annals of this king show that at that early date these cities 
were advanced in civilisation, and the treasure which he brought 
with him to Egypt proves that they were wealthy and able to 
manufacture articles of beauty. 
1400. The Tel el-Amarna letters give us much interesting in- 
formation about the Phoenician cities. They were still under 
Egyptian governors, but the power of Egypt was not what it 
had been ; there were evidently many rebellious spirits in 
them and they were slipping from Egyptian grasp. The 
eighteenth dynasty of which Thothmes was a member came 
to an end ; and though the kings of the nineteenth strove to 
1300. conquer Syria, and still spoke of the princes of Tyre as 
vassals, Egypt never regained her position in Asia. From 
the Tel el-Amarna letters we learn that Tyre was already 
famous on account of her wealth. One writer says : " Behold, 
the palace of the city of Tyre : there is no palace of any 
other governor like unto it ; exceeding great is the wealth ". 
Notwithstanding the surpassing greatness of Tyre, Sidon had 
the earlier pre-eminence, and seems even to have given its 
name to the district on which the cities stood. In Genesis 
we read that " Canaan begat Sidon his first born " ; in Joshua 

" Great Sidon " is mentioned, and " the fenced city of Tyre " ; 

(284) 



GKEATNESS 285 

and in Homer, whilst mention is made of Sidonian wares, 
Tyre is not spoken of. Evidently, therefore, in the early 
centuries Sidon was predominant. Its name is probably 
derived from Said, the god of fishermen, and the teeming 
city with its harbour and wide commerce, doubtless grew 
out of a small fishing village. Tyre, the city of the rock, 
which eventually surpassed Sidon, was of later foundation. 
The Phoenicians occupied a territory well guarded by 
nature. On one side lay the Mediterranean, on the -other the 
mountains of Lebanon with their forests, precipices and snow- 
clad peaks. Phoenicia was out of the way, and when other 
parts of Syria were overrun, it escaped. When kings deter- 
mined to subjugate it, they approached either from the 
northern or southern extremity of Lebanon. If they came 
from the north, the island city of Aradus had to bear the 
brunt of the fighting; if from the south, it fell upon Tyre. 
History makes it clear that when it was needful the Phceni- 
cians could fight with desperate courage, but it was rarely 
that they cared to offer much resistance to an invader. Busi- 
ness considerations generally made it more prudent for them 
to submit. If they were attacked by Assyria, Babylonia or 
Egypt, it suited them better to submit nominally and agree 
to the payment of tribute, for even if they could hope suc- 
cessfully to defy a great power, there would be an end to 
pacific trading and the tribute which secured its friendship 
was as nothing compared with the loss of profit which would 
result from its enmity. Thus the Phoenicians paid tribute 
willingly, looking upon it as a toll by which they gained 
permission to trade freely and recouped themselves a hundred- 
fold. For a similar reason they were in the habit of paying 
a ground rent to the natives amongst whom they founded 
settlements, and of continuing payment even when their settle- 
ments became powerful and could have safely defied their 
neighbours. It was not cowardice nor want of patriotism 
which induced them to take such a course, but an intelligent 
appreciation of what was best for their material interest. 



286 PHCENICIA 

There have been writers who have accused the Phoenicians 
of deceit, of disregarding the rights of weaker peoples, and of 
sharp practice in trading. Doubtless there were many dis- 
honest Phoenicians, but it is absurd to imagine that dishonesty- 
could have been a national characteristic. The Phoenicians 
must as a race have won the respect and confidence of 
the natives with whom they traded, or their history would 
tell of reprisal and massacre instead of being a record of 
peaceful trading with civilised and uncivilised alike for cen- 
turies of time. 

The supremacy of Sidon over the other Phoenician cities 
was rudely shaken by a war with the Philistines. This 
hardy pirate race had come to Canaan during the tribal 
movement which threatened Egypt in the reign of Ramses III. 
and had established themselves in Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron, 
Gaza and Gath. Being great fighters they quarrelled with 
the Sidonians about the possession of Dor. Dor was really in 
Philistia but had been colonised by Sidon and was a favourite 
fishing-ground, possessing fine beds of the shell fish from which 
1250. their dye was extracted. An obstinate war resulted, in which 
the Sidonians were worsted; and perhaps it was about this 
time that Tyre forged ahead and became the foremost city in 
Phoenicia. 

The first king of Tyre of whom we have historic know- 
ledge is Hiram, said to have been the son of Abi-Baal. Owing 
to difficulties in chronology the precise date of the accession 
of Hiram cannot be fixed, but it must have been towards the 
960. end of the reign of King David. Hiram was only nineteen 
when he became king, and he reigned between thirty 
and forty years, rebuilding Tyre and raising it to great pros- 
perity and power. When he came to the throne, the city 
stood on two islands, and there was little available building land. 
Hiram filled up the space between the islands, and reclaimed 
land from the sea, so that he not only enlarged the building 
area, but could afford to have a public square in the middle of 
the city. Walls were also built, the harbours improved, and 



GKEATNESS 287 

the temple of Melkarth restored. The trade of Phoenicia 
was greatly helped in his reign by the disappearance of the 
Philistine pirates from the Levant. They had been buccaneers 
by profession, but King David subdued them, and incorporated 
the more turbulent spirits amongst them in his army, to the 
great benefit of the Phoenician trader. It was little wonder 
therefore if Hiram admired the Hebrew monarch, and kept 
on friendly terms with his son. There were other reasons 
why the Phoenicians should desire to be friendly with the 
Hebrews. Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt were now depressed, 
and David's kingdom stretched over Syria, covering the 
caravan routes by which the merchandise of Asia found 
its way to Phoenicia. Moreover Hiram and Solomon could 
be mutually helpful. Solomon commanded the east, Hiram 
the west. Edom, with its Red Sea harbours was a Hebrew 
province, whilst the best ports on the Mediterranean were 
Phoenician. Accordingly a trading partnership was entered 
into by the kings, to their mutual benefit, Solomon importing 
European products through Tyre whilst Hiram used the 
Hebrew ports in his trade with Arabia and Ophir. 

The partnership was useful in another way. King David 
had founded an empire and established Jerusalem as its capital, 
but he had done little to make the capital worthy of the 
empire. Solomon, imitating Hiram, and the Pharaohs with 
whom he had made matrimonial alliance, determined to build 
on a great scale. In this matter Hiram did him much 
service, for the Hebrews were an agricultural people, un- 
skilled either in architecture or art, whereas Tyre had an 
abundant supply of handicraftsmen. Already either Hiram 
or his father had sent at David's request large quantities of 
material, which was stored in readiness for the work, and 
now Hiram gladly threw his energies into it, sending material 
and lending architects and workmen without stint. The 
temple occupied seven years in building, and Solomon also 
built palaces for himself and his Egyptian queen. The fortifi- 
cations of the city were greatly strengthened, and the palace 



288 PHCENICIA 

was protected by a fortress called Millo. These works occupied 
twenty years, and the friendship of the monarchs continued 
during the whole of their lives, although Solomon treated 
Hiram somewhat shabbily on one occasion, giving him, in 
exchange for a large quantity of gold, a district of Galilee, 
which seems to have been worthless both to himself and to 
Hiram. 

The friendship of Solomon was of peculiar value to the 
Phoenicians at this period of their history. It was the time 
when the Greeks, who had learned shipbuilding and naviga- 
tion from the Phoenicians, were seriously competing with 
them, pressing them out of the north-eastern corner of the 
Mediterranean, and causing them to seek other outlets for 
their trade. These they were finding in Sicily, Africa and 
Spain, and having also access to the east, they became very 
rich, and the grandeur of Phoenicia reached its zenith. 

During Hiram's reign the Phoenicians engaged in a war of 
some importance, conjectured to have been with Utica an 
important colony near the site on which Carthage was after- 
wards built. Hiram succeeded in quelling the revolt, and in 
handing down his empire to his son unimpaired. 
920. Baal-azar, his son, reigned uneventfully for seven years and 

was succeeded by Abdstarte I. who reigned peacefully for 
nine years, but was then murdered ; and years of trouble 
followed, during which the monarchs met with violent deaths 
and the dynasty was thrice changed. 

Phoenicia could not now trade with the East so freely as in 
the days of David and Solomon. The Hebrew monarchy was 
divided, rival kings sat on the thrones of Israel and Judah, 
and the outlying portions of the empire had seceded, and 
were often in open enmity and war. Farther east still, 
Assyria was raising her head threateningly and would soon 
strike the nations of Western Asia with deadly force. Ethbaal 
880. was king of Tyre when Phoenicia came into contact with 
Assyria. It was not actually for the first time, because two 
centuries earlier Tiglath-Pileser I. had made an excursion to 



GEEATNESS 289 

the shore of Syria, and been hospitably entertained by the 
inhabitants of Aradus, the most northern of the Phoenician 
ports. But the greatness of Tig-lath Pileser I. was premature, 
and Assyria had lain dormant until, in the ninth century before 
our era, aided by the break-up of the Hebrew monarchy, 
she began to reassert herself. Assur-nazir-pal her monarch 
carried desolation into Western Asia, but his attack was 
chiefly directed against the Hittites, and the Phoenicians satis- 
fied him by sending gifts. Ethbaal was contemporaneous 
with Ahab, king of Israel, who married Jezebel his daughter. 
He was a man of enterprise, during whose reign Tyre held 
her own. Ethbaal was succeeded by Baal-azar, and he by 
Metten I. Metten reigned for nine years and died, leaving 
Pygmalion, an infant son, but nominating as his successor 
Sicharbas, the High Priest of Melkarth, who was married to 
Elissa his daughter. The tale runs that when Pygmalion came 
to manhood he killed Sicharbas, upon which Elissa, with such 
nobles as adhered to her, fled, first to Cyprus and afterwards 
to Africa, where a site was obtained and the Colony of 
Carthage founded. 853 - 



19 



CHAPTER IV. 

SUBJECTION. 

Phoenicia had been invaded by Assur-nazir-pal, but the 
Assyrian had been bought oft* by rich gifts and a nominal 
subjection, and during his long reign he gave Phoenicia no 
serious trouble. 

858. Shalmaneser II., his son, warred continuously with Syria, 

especially with Hamath and Damascus which were helped by 
the Phoenician cities, but at last all submitted, agreeing to pay 
an annual tribute, and sending valuable presents from time to 
time. The friendship of Assyria was now as necessary to the 
Phoenicians as that of the Hebrews had been in earlier times, 
for the oriental caravan routes crossed Assyrian dependencies. 
The payment of tribute, therefore, was in a sense for service 
rendered, and did not of itself imply that Phoenicia had ceased 
to be prosperous. The prophet could still speak of Tyre as : 
"The crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose 
traffickers are the honourable of the earth ". 

745. But Tiglath-Pileser III. attempted to draw the bonds closer, 

and compelled various cities in Northern Syria and Phoenicia 

to accept Assyrian governors. For a time this bondage was 

borne ; but, when it was seen to be merely a step in the process 

of absorption, a revolt ensued in which the Phoenician city of 

Simyra joined. The revolt was unsuccessful, and the city was 

destroyed. The fate of Simyra alarmed the other Phoenician 

cities, and Elulseus, king of Tyre, fearing lest they should be 

swallowed up separately, endeavoured to get them to unite in 

a defensive alliance against the common danger. Accordingly 

727. when Shalmaneser IV. invaded Phoenicia they showed a united 

(290) 



SUBJECTION 291 

front, and he was at first foiled. Afterwards he sent emissaries 
to stir up disaffection, who were so successful that Tyre was 
left to fight a single-handed battle. Even so, the brave city- 
proved a match for him, holding out until he died or was 722. 
murdered, and Sargon became king. 

Elulseus seems to have made honourable terms with Sargon, 
and to have prospered under his suzerainty, restoring the 
alliance with, and in some degree re-establishing his own 
authority over the other Phoenician cities. 

Sargon was succeeded by Sennacherib, who determined to 705. 
subjugate Western Asia thoroughly. As usual when there 
was a change of monarch, the subject countries had become 
restless, and, encouraged by Egypt, Phoenicia and Judah threw 
off the Assyrian yoke. Sennacherib levied an army of 200,000 
men and marched upon Phoenicia ; and Elulaeus, who was still 
king of Tyre, was so alarmed that he fled to Cyprus. After 
this Sennacherib subdued the cities one after the other without 
difficulty, though he does not claim to have captured Tyre ; 
and then, having appointed Tubaal as king of Phoenicia in 
place of Elulseus, he marched southward on that ill-fated 
campaign in which he lost the greater part of his army. 

In the reign of Esarhaddon, Abdi-Melkarth the king of 680. 
Sidon, who seems to have succeeded Tubaal, revolted. Esar- 
haddon attacked Sidon and the king fled, but was captured 
and executed ; after which Sidon was treated with great 
severity, the town being largely destroyed, most of the inhabi- 
tants carried off to Assyria, and their places filled by captives 
from Babylonia and Elam. At this time Baal, king of Tyre, 
was a favourite at the Assyrian Court ; but afterwards, when 
Esarhaddon determined on the conquest of Egypt, he com- 
plains that Baal sided with the enemy, " putting his trust in 
Tirhakah, king of Cush". Egypt was conquered and Tyre 
blockaded, but after a time, either during the reign of Esar- 
haddon or that of his successor Assur-bani-pal, the city sur- 
rendered on honourable terms, and Baal was permitted to 
retain his throne. 



292 PHOENICIA 

668. The conquest of Egypt had to be undertaken over again 

by Assur-bani-pal, but, when it had been successfully ac- 
complished, he determined to humble Baal, either for some 
new offence or because the old had never been properly 
avenged. Tyre was accordingly blockaded on the land side, 
until the king was constrained to plead for grace, when he was 
once more restored to favour. It may seem strange that Tyre 
should have been so often forgiven, but it was at that time the 
greatest commercial city in the world, and capable of paying a 
heavy tribute, which the Assyrian kings did not care to lose. 
When other Phoenician towns revolted, they were not so 
leniently dealt with, and the fate of Sidon, Simyra and Acre 
might have ultimately overtaken Tyre, had not Assyria herself 
been destroyed by her enemies. 

Before the end of the reign of Assur-bani-pal it became 
evident that Assyria had overtaxed her strength, and decay 
began to set in. The careful arrangements made for main- 
taining supremacy in Egypt were overthrown by Psamatik, 
who dared even to cross the frontier and invade Palestine, 
whilst Phoenicia became once more independent. Meanwhile 
Assyria was contending for existence. Elam and Babylonia 
had revolted, and though fire and sword had been carried 
through both countries unsparingly, the people were only half 
subdued. In the north a new power, the Median, had arisen, 
and Assyria was invaded by unsparing foes. The attack did not 
immediately succeed, for Cyaxares, who led it, had to return 
to save his own country from the Scythians, but the relief 
was only for a moment. Soon Assyria herself was trodden 
underfoot by the barbarians, and, when their invasion had 
spent itself, she had lost her empire. The Medes and 

606. Babylonians had but to strike a final blow, and Nineveh 
succumbed. 

Phoenicia was now free from Assyria, but her conquerors 
had to be reckoned with. The final downfall of the great 
empire had been brought about by Egypt, Media and 
Babylon, and the first blow had been struck by Egypt, 



SUBJECTION 293 

Pharaoh Necho having- captured Carchemish, and cut As- 608. 
syria off from the western half of her empire. By right of 
conquest, therefore, Phoenicia belonged to Egypt, but scarcely 
had Nineveh fallen when Nebuchadrezzar, son of Nabopolassar, 
king of Babylon, attacked the Egyptians and drove them head- 
long out of Syria back to their own land. Even there they 
would not have been permitted to rest but that Nabopolassar 
•died and Nebuchadrezzar had to return quickly to make his 605. 
succession sure. The Phoenicians now passed under the 
suzerainty of Babylon, but they kept up friendly relations 
with Egypt, where Necho wisely devoted his energies to 
the development of his country. In this estimable work he 
was helped by the Phoenicians, who are thought to have been 
permitted by him to establish a colony at Memphis. During 
Necho's reign they performed a notable feat. The Egyptian 
king was anxious to find a way of transporting his fleet 
from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and at first tried 
to solve the problem by digging a canal. This work proved 
beyond his strength, and he determined to see whether it 
might not be possible to circumnavigate Africa. Accordingly 600. 
he persuaded Phoenician sailors to undertake the experimental 
voyage, and they were successful, starting from the Red Sea, 
rounding the Cape, and returning by way of the Straits of 
Gibraltar. The voyage took nearly three years to accomplish, 
for they only sailed by daylight, lay by in rough weather, 
landed in the autumn, and remained on shore long enough to 
sow seed and raise a crop of corn. When they returned they 
declared that in sailing westward they had the sun on their 
right hand, that is in the north — -a story which was then 
treated as incredible, but' now proves that they actually 
performed the feat. Thus Africa was circumnavigated by 
Phoenicians 2,000 years before Vasco da Gama, nor is it 
exaggeration to term their voyage the most daring that has 
ever been attempted in the world's history. As the distance 
round Africa proved to be so great, the route was valueless for 
the purpose which Necho had in hand, and as its scientific 



294 PHCENICIA 

importance was not realised at that time, the very fact that 
Africa was circumnavigable was forgotten. 

Meanwhile under the rule of Nebuchadrezzar, Babylon 
took up the position which Assyria had occupied amongst the 
western nations, and was as cordially hated by them as her 
predecessor had been. A spirit of disaffection quickly spread, 
and Phoenicia and Palestine drew towards Egypt — Necho 
doing his best to foment rebellion. A revolt took place 
immediately after Nebuchadrezzar ascended the throne, but 
the Babylonians were at war with Elam, and it was some 
years before he could attend to his Syrian province. At last 
he marched westward and besieged Jerusalem. The city 
soon fell and was destroyed, the temple was burnt, the 
king carried prisoner to Babylon. Other cities having 
been disposed of in like manner, Nebuchadrezzar laid 
586. siege to Tyre ; but as the Tyrians had command of the 
sea, the siege was tedious, and it was thirteen years before 
the city submitted. Apparently Nebuchadrezzar was satis- 
fied with its submission and did not further injure it, but 
the long siege had diminished its commerce, and Sidon 
regained its ancient position and became the leading city in 
Phoenicia. 

Under Babylonian rule the condition of Phoenicia was one 
of steady decline. The Greeks were now very active in the 
Mediterranean, and had obtained a large share of the com- 
merce which the Phoenicians had formerly enjoyed as a mono- 
poly. Carthage was also expanding rapidly and much of the 
trade in Spain, at one time so lucrative, was now diverted from 
the mother country to her enterprising colony. Under any 
circumstances, therefore, the Phoenicians would have had a 
struggle to hold their own, but the effort was made much 
harder by Nebuchadrezzar, who reduced their cities to a 
condition of dependence which cramped both political and 
industrial progress. From this time, therefore, Tyre became 
of less significance in the world's history, although she still 
enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity. 



CHAPTER V. 

SUBJUGATION. 

The condition of Phoenicia under Babylonian rule had been so 538. 
unhappy that she must have viewed the fall of the Babylonian 
empire and the rise of the Persian with satisfaction. Nor 
would the satisfaction of the Phoenicians be the less marked 
because Cyrus the new conqueror was so much occupied 
establishing his authority elsewhere that he had no time to 
trouble with them. All that a trading country really needs 
is to be left alone, and Phoenicia was left alone during 
the reign of Cyrus. She therefore courageously resumed her 
commercial career, and met with a satisfactory amount of 
success, though the glory of former days could not again 
return. 

One of the first acts of Cyrus had been to permit exiles 
to return to their homes. Amongst those who took advantage 
of his offer were the Jews, and probably also many Phoeni- 
cians. The Jews at once set about rebuilding their temple, 
and it is interesting to notice that in doing this they were 
helped by the Phoenicians as loyally as they had been helped 
when building the first temple. Ezra relates how they gave 
money to the masons and to the carpenters ; " and meat, and 
drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon, and to them of Tyre, to 
bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according 
to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia ". 

Cyrus had been too busy to pay attention to the conquest 
of Phoenicia and Egypt, but his son Cambyses no sooner 
succeeded him than he marched west with an overwhelming 529. 
force. The Phoenicians wisely attempted no resistance, and 

(295) 



296 PHOENICIA 

Cambyses, realising how useful they might be in connection 
with the invasion of Egypt, did all he could to gain their 
friendship. Accordingly they placed a large fleet at his dis- 
posal, aided by which the conquest of Egypt was successfully 
accomplished. Unfortunately Cambyses determined on three 
further expeditions, two of which ended disastrously. The 
third was to have been against the important city of Carthage, 
but he had to abandon his intention owing to the patriotic 
attitude of the Phoenicians, who refused to fight against their 
own colony. 

521. After Cambyses' death his successors found the mari- 

time people exceedingly useful and showed them favour, in 
return for which they provided the most important section of 
the Persian navy. During the reign of Darius Phoenicia pros- 
pered, for the arrangements which he made for the protection 
of travellers, the building of roads and bridges, and the 
establishment of a gold and silver currency, facilitated com- 
merce. The Phoenicians were therefore contented, and when 

500. Aristagoras of Miletus revolted, and the revolt spread through- 
out the Greek cities of Asia Minor, and much depended on the 
action which the Phoenicians might take, they stood loyally 
by Persia. 

The course taken by Athens during the revolt in Asia 
Minor determined Darius to invade Greece, and he sent an 

492. expedition under Mardonius, but it met with many disas- 
ters and returned ingloriously. Two years later another 
fleet sailed across the JEgean under Datis and Artaphernes, 
with the army which was so signally defeated by the 
Athenians on the plain of Marathon. 

Darius dying, the next attempt against Greece was made 

480. by Xerxes, and in this the Phoenicians, who had doubtless 
contributed their share to the fleets of the former expeditions, 
played an important part. A ship canal was dug through the 
peninsula of Mount Athos and a bridge of boats constructed 
over the Hellespont, in both of which operations their work- 
men showed the greatest skill, and in the war fleet of 1,200 



SUBJUGATION 297 

vessels the Phoenician ships were the most numerous and 
the best manned. Accordingly they got the brunt of the work, 
and at Salamis had the honour of being pitted against the 
Athenians, who were the best fighters in the Greek fleet. 
Owing to the narrowness of the seas the Phoenicians were 
beaten with the rest ; and Xerxes, in his rage, threatened them 
so violently that they are said to have left the fleet and 
returned home. 

After Salamis the Phoenicians were for a time not quite 
so forward in helping Persia, but the feeling of chagrin wore 
off, and they continued to play an important part on critical 
occasions. At the battle of Eurymedon where Cimon gained 466 « 
so great a victory for the Athenians, many Phoenician vessels 
were engaged, and indeed for a long time the Phoenicians were 
Persia's chief support in her naval warfare. But for them 
the Persians could neither have governed the cities of the 
Asiatic Greeks nor held the balance of power between the 
Greek states. 

Twice at least the Phoenicians were useful to the Athe- 
nians, helping them to win the important battle of Cnidus, in 394. 
which fell the Spartan power in Asia, and next year aiding 
them to rebuild the long walls which had been destroyed at 
the end of the Peloponnesian war. 

The power of Persia was now, however, on the wane. 
Artaxerxes II (Mnemon) had succeeded to the throne, and his 
brother Cyrus, determining to wrest the crown from him, 
marched on Babylon with an army of which the principal 
fighting corps consisted of 13,000 Greeks. Cyrus was killed 401. 
at Cunaxa, and the Greeks had to fight their way home again 
from the very heart of Persia. They did this successfully, and 
the fact that such a thing could be done greatly lowered 
Persian prestige. 

Not long afterwards Evagoras of Cyprus revolted against 
Persia and held his own for ten years, carrying his arms to 
the mainland, and capturing Tyre, perhaps with the connivance 
of a section of the people, but Artaxerxes made a great effort 



298 PHOENICIA 

and defeated him, permitting him however to retain his 
position as king. 

During the reign of Darius Nothus, the predecessor of 
Artaxerxes, Egypt had thrown oif the Persian yoke, and 
Artaxerxes sent an army to bring it again under subjection. 

375. The army was under the joint leadership of Iphicrates, an 
Athenian general, and Pharnabazus, a Persian, but owing to 
disagreement between them they achieved nothing, and the 
expedition had to retire. After this there was a revolt of the 
satraps of Asia Minor, and an invasion of Syria by Egypt ; 
and, though these came to nought, yet in the end of the reign 
of Artaxerxes Persia was much less powerful. 

359. When Ochus succeeded to the throne (after several 

assassinations), reigning as Artaxerxes III. he determined 
to reconquer Egypt, which had now been independent for 
about half a century. Nectanebo was the reigning Pharaoh 
and Ochus marched against him, but he had obtained the 
help of Greek generals and met his adversary boldly — 
defeating him in the field. This reverse encouraged further 
disaffection and Phoenicia declared for independence. The 
revolt was headed by Tennes II., king of Sidon, who persuaded 
the other cities to follow his lead and made alliance with 
Nectanebo, obtaining from him a band of Greek mercenaries 
under Mentor, a Rhodian. Thus aided Tennes drove the 
Persians out of Phoenicia and nine chief cities threw off 
their yoke. Ochus, recognising the serious nature of the 
revolt, invaded Phoenicia with 300,000 men, at the ap- 
proach of whom Tennes lost courage, and concerted measures 
with Mentor for the betrayal of Sidon to the enemy. It is 
likely enough that Mentor had been bribed by the Persians 
already, because soon after we find him transferring himself 
and his mercenaries to Ochus, and he had the command of the 
Greek mercenaries in the campaign against Egypt which fol- 
lowed. The result of Tennes' cowardice was terrible. Ochus 
obtained entrance into the city, and the Sidonians, having 
tried in vain to make terms, in despair shut themselves into 



SUBJUGATION 299 

their houses and set fire to the city — 40,000 persons perishing 
in the dreadful conflagration. After the destruction of Sidon 
Tennes was executed by the Persians, so that he gained 
nothing by his treachery. 

The fate of Sidon cowed the Phoenicians, and Ochus was 
able to turn his arms against Egypt, which he speedily re- 
conquered. The Phoenician cities had now peace for a time, 
and trade once more flourished, and though the leadership 
passed to Tyre, Sidon was rebuilt, and had some share in 
the general prosperity. 



CHAPTER VI. 

DESTRUCTION. 

336. Darius Codom annus ascended the Persian throne just before 
Alexander succeeded to that of Macedonia. The Persians had 
been preparing to meet an invasion by Philip of Macedon, 
the father of Alexander, but thought that with his death 
danger had passed away. The rapid success of the young 
king in Thrace, Illyria and Boeotia undeceived them, and 
preparations for defence, were resumed. Had Darius been 
wise he would have tried to prevent Alexander from crossing 
the Hellespont, for he could easily have gathered a much 
greater fleet than Alexander possessed. But though he had 
given instructions to the Phoenicians to prepare a fleet, no 
effort was made to bring it up at the critical moment, and 
the Macedonians crossed unopposed. 

533. The defeat of the Persians at the battle of the Granicus 

and the subjugation of Asia Minor quickly followed, then 

came the battle of Issus, and Darius was in headlong flight. 

Alexander had now to choose whether he would at once 

pursue the king eastward, or first subdue Phoenicia and Egypt. 

The latter, though the more tedious, was the safer course, for 

so long as Phoenicia was under Persian influence there was 

little to hinder Darius from opening up communication with 

Southern Greece and fomenting rebellion there against his 

enemy. Alexander knew that Persian gold was more potent 

than the Persian sword ; and, therefore, leaving Darius to 

gather another army at his leisure, he determined to first 

subjugate the seaboard provinces. 

Accordingly he inarched southward, and the Phoenician 

(300) 



DESTEUCTION 301 

cities, recognising the decisive character of the battle of Issus, 
surrendered — Tyre amongst the rest. Unfortunately a dispute 
arose with the Tyrians, because Alexander demanded per- 
mission to sacrifice in their temple of Melkarth; and they, 
fearing he would leave a garrison in the city, refused to admit 
him, whereupon in great wrath he determined to enter by 
force. It would have been wiser had the Tyrians yielded the 
point, but Alexander s prowess had not yet been fully tested, 
and they knew that their city was not easily captured. Their 
fortifications were powerful, they had command of the sea, 
Darius would surely come to their aid, and perhaps Carthage, 
now a very great city, might help them, so they sent their 
aged citizens and many of their women and children to 
Carthage, and prepared to offer a stout resistance. But the 
fates were against them. Neither Darius nor the Carthagin- 
ians put in an appearance. Alexander built a mole from the 
mainland to the city and gathered a great fleet, compelling 
the other Phoenician cities to supply ships to fight against 
their friends. The Tyrians resisted with the utmost heroism, 
and the siege was as desperate in character as the later sieges 
of Carthage and Jerusalem. But all was in vain : the mole was 
finished, and the city assaulted by land and sea. The carnage 
was terrible, most of the Tyrians fell with arms in their 
hands, those who were taken prisoners were crucified, the 
women, children and slaves sold to the highest bidder. After 
the carnage Alexander performed the religious ceremony upon 332. 
which he had set his heart, and athletic sports brought the 
drama to an end. 

Alexander had no more trouble with the Phoenicians during 
the remainder of his brief career, and on several occasions 
they were useful to him. Their nautical skill helped him 
in his voyage down the Indus, and their sailors accompanied 
Nearchus with the fleet which sailed from the Indus through 
the Persian Gulf to Babylon. After Alexander's return to 
Babylon he determined to explore the seaboard of Arabia, and 
it is even thought that he proposed to circumnavigate Africa. 



302 PHOENICIA 

Vessels were built in Phoenicia and carried in sections to the 
Euphrates, where they were put together and brought down 
to Babylon. With this fleet and the aid of the Phoenicians 
Alexander would probably have accomplished much, but death 

323. claimed him before his schemes could be carried into effect. 

His empire was divided amongst his generals, and Phoenicia 

fell to Laomedon, but in a year or two, Ptolemy, to whom 

Egypt had fallen, attacked Laomedon, and seized Phoenicia. 

314. Some years later Ptolemy was in his turn attacked by 
Antigonus, and had to relinquish his ill-gotten possession. 
Strangely enough the only city that offered much resistance 
was Tyre, which though destroyed by Alexander only eighteen 
years before had so far recovered that it held out against 
Antigonus for fifteen months, and then only surrendered 

287. because provisions had failed. About thirty years later Phoe- 
nicia again fell under Egyptian rule, and so remained for 
seventy years. It then became for a time the battle-ground 

198. of Egypt and Syria, after which it passed finally into the 
hands of the latter power. 

Times had now greatly changed for the Phoenicians 
from a commercial point of view. For many centuries they 
had been without rivals ; then the Greeks had pushed them 
from the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Romans from the 
West. During his residence in Egypt Alexander had founded 
the city of Alexandria, and it had made progress and was 
cutting Phoenicia out of much of her Egyptian trade. All 
this, however, Phoenicia could have surmounted but for the 
repeated destruction of her cities, and the war and pillage to 
which she had been so frequently subjected. Nevertheless 
she did her best, and under the Seleucidse prospered to some 
extent, Tyre being still famous for her dyes and Sidon for 
the manufacture of glass. At last the kingdom of the Seleu- 
cidae came to an end. Their subjects had sought the help 

83. of Tigranes, king of Armenia, and he governed the country 
for some years, until Rome, offended by his action dur- 
ing the Mithridatic war, compelled him to retire from Syria, 



DESTEUCTION 303 

placing Antiochus Asiaticus, a member of the family of the 
Seleucidse, in his place. The restoration was a failure, and in 
a few years Rome again came forward, and the kingdom of 
the Seleucidse, including Phoenicia, became a Roman province ; 65. 
the towns of Tyre, Sidon and Tripolis being allowed the 
privileges of free cities, with their own magistrates and 
councils. 

Under the Romans, the Phoenician cities prospered in a 
measure, and, indeed, Tyre and Sidon were flourishing cities 
even in the time of the Crusades, but the history of the Phoe- 
nicians as a people ends with their absorption by Rome. Nor 
had their mission in the world been unfulfilled. They had 
done a great work as pioneers of commerce and civilisation. 
For more than a thousand years they had been the world's 
greatest traders, not striving to extend commerce by increasing 
territory, nor seeking to establish a kingdom by blood and 
iron, but paying honestly for such territory as they required, 
and winning their way amongst the races of mankind by the 
material benefits which they conferred. When other nations 
fancied that glory could only be found on the field of battle, 
the Phoenicians were finding a more enduring glory by feats 
of exploration ; when they thought wealth must be amassed 
by murder and pillage, the Phoenicians were showing how a 
people might become rich by patient continuance in well- 
doing. Though they had to contend against many natural 
disadvantages, and were exposed to much brutality from more 
powerful but less deserving nations, they taught the world a 
lesson which can never be forgotten, and which is unfortunately 
as much needed to-day as it was when Phoenicia began to 
teach it — fifteen centuries before the Christian era. 



CARTHAGE. 



20 



CARTHAGE. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE RISE OF CARTHAGE. 

The date of the foundation of Carthage is generally placed 353. 
a century before that of Rome and this is probably as good an 
approximation as we need desire in a matter so indefinite. 
Carthage is said to have been founded by the Tyrians, and 
though by no means their oldest colony it became their greatest. 
Both Gades in Spain and Utica in Africa were founded 
centuries before Carthage ; but it became rich and powerful, 
and soon threw the other colonies into the shade. 

The story runs that a king of Tyre named Pygmalion 
murdered his sister's husband, the priest of Melkarth, for the 
sake of his treasure, upon which his sister Elissa fled, carrying 
the treasure with her. She was accompanied by a number of 
leading Tyrians, and after touching at Cyprus they went on 
to Utica, and, settling near that city, built Carthage. 

Carthage was burnt to the ground by the Romans after 
it had been in existence seven centuries, and in the conflagra- 
tion its libraries and records perished. The few books saved 
were thoughtlessly scattered by the Romans, and of what was 
probably a considerable amount of literature, only a few 
treatises survived — a work upon agriculture in twenty-eight 
books by Mago, which was translated into Latin by order of 
the Senate, and afterwards into Greek, and two books of travel. 
For our knowledge of Carthage therefore we are dependent 
mainly upon the writings of Roman authors, who generally 

wrote in a hostile spirit. In reading their comments we have 

(307) 



308 CAETHAGE 

to bear this in mind, remembering also the words of Cicero 
when he says : " Neither could Carthage have maintained her 
eminent position for 600 years had she not been governed with 
wisdom and high statesmanship ". 

There was an essential difference between the lines of 
foreign policy laid down by Tyre and by her great colony. 
The Tyrians did not force trade upon any unwilling people. 
Unless the advantages which they could confer by trading 
made them welcome, they went elsewhere. The world was 
wide enough to furnish a market for their wares, and if one 
nation declined to deal with them another would. When 
they were attacked they fought tenaciously, but they were 
too wise to think that commerce and the sword should go 
hand in hand. With the Carthaginians it was otherwise. 
Whilst willing to be peaceful, and eager to trade, the lust of 
empire took possession of them, and the wealth they made in 
commerce was thrown away in war. 

The Phoenicians had traded for centuries before Carth- 
age was founded, and had occupied many prominent 
places in the Mediterranean before any competitors appeared 
on the scene. The coast of Sicily was dotted with Phoenician 
depots, and the island being fertile, there was a lively 
trade. Gradually, however, the Greeks pressed forward, 
founding colonies both there and in Italy. Naxos, Syracuse, 
735# Catania and Leontini were thus founded, and later Gela, 
Himera and other cities. The Phoenicians did not care to 
fight with the Greeks about Sicily, and retired gradually before 
them ; but the Carthaginians were not so complaisant, and 
though they withdrew from the eastern portion of the island 
they held the western portion fast. It would have been better 
for Carthage had she let Sicily go. Her history is little more 
than the record of a struggle to keep her footing there, first 
with the Greeks and afterwards with the Romans, a struggle 
which cost her, during its progress, more than the commercial 
value of the island, and ended with her destruction. 



THE EISE OF GAKTHAGE 309 

As Carthage grew in importance she gradually took the 
place in the Western Mediterranean which had been occupied 
by Tyre ; but the relations between the mother country and 
her colony remained friendly throughout. Carthage sent a 
voluntary tribute to the temple of Melkarth from time to time ; 
and when Cambyses conquered Egypt, and wanted the Phoeni- 
cians, who formed the major portion of his fleet, to help him 
to conquer Carthage, they refused. Later, when Tyre was 
besieged by Alexander and was in extremity, the Tyrians sent 
their wives, children and old men to Carthage for refuge. 

The religion of the Carthaginians, like that of Tyre, 
amounted largely to a deification of the powers of nature. 
Their chief deities were Moloch, the sun god ; Ashtaroth or 
Venus, the moon god, known to them as Tanit ; and Dagon, 
the fish god. They worshipped Moloch with human sacrifices, 
not often perhaps, but at times of national peril. The 
Druids did much the same. 

The government of Carthage was a timocracy — an oligarchy 
based upon wealth. There were two elective magistrates at 
the head, but most of the power was in the hands of an 
assembly known as " The Hundred," vacancies in which were 
filled by co-option. The oligarchy must have given satis- 
faction on the whole ; for whereas, in the Greek and Sicilian 
cities revolutions were of frequent occurrence, it was not so in 
Carthage. Aristotle tells us that the Carthaginians were " a well- 
governed people," and that their government " deserved to 
stand in high repute ". Carthage was not happy in the manage- 
ment of her dependencies. She had, at one time or another, 
many of these. The islands of the Western Mediterranean ; 
settlements in Spain ; numerous colonies on the African coast, 
stretching almost to the equator ; cities in Sicily ; and most of 
the earlier Phoenician settlements fell under her power and 
paid her tribute. The African tribes who surrounded the 
city were little better than slaves, and wealthy Carthaginians 
worked their estates and mines by slave labour. These Libyan 
subjects had no love for Carthage, they quickly deserted her 



310 CAETHAGE 

standard, and even took up arms against her when opportunity- 
arose. 

Carthage was a great city, perhaps one of the greatest 
cities of antiquity. Its commerce was wonderful, it had 
splendid harbours, was strongly fortified with triple walls, and 
contained before its destruction, and after it had passed through 
much trouble, a large population. The citizens of Carthage 
are said to have numbered 700,000, but in this figure the whole 
province must have been included, as the city proper could 
scarcely have contained more than 250,000. 

The Carthaginians were great explorers and founded 
many colonies. We have records of two expeditions under- 

500. taken in the fifth century before the Christian era, to the 
west coast of Europe and Africa respectively. The descrip- 
tion of the European voyage of exploration is unreliable, 
but that of Hanno down the coast of Africa has many marks 
of authenticity. It would seem that Carthage was greatly 
overcrowded, and Hanno carried in his fleet 30,000 half 
castes and settled them at favourable places on the Atlantic 
seaboard. He passed the Senegal River, and must have 
reached the Cameroons, for he describes a volcano which 
is to be found in that mountain range. Hanno also discovered 
the " gorilla," the name now so familiar occurring first in the 
Greek description of his voyage. About a century before 

600. this expedition, the Canaanitish Phoenicians had, at the in- 
stigation of Pharaoh Necho, circumnavigated Africa, so that 
the two most daring voyages of antiquity were undertaken, 
the one by the Phoenicians, the other by their colonists the 
Carthaginians. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE STRUGGLE WITH THE GREEKS. 

The earliest recorded conflict between the Greeks and Car- 600. 
thaginians was at Marseilles, a city which the Phocsean Greeks 
had established, and which had become so prosperous as to 
arouse the jealousy of Carthage. The Carthaginians accord- 
ingly attacked it, but were worsted. 

Somewhat later the Carthaginians joined hands with the 536. 
Etruscans to prevent the Phocseans from settling in Corsica, 
and the allies were successful, although not without a 
struggle. 

The first conflict on a grand scale between Greeks and 480. 
Carthaginians was in Sicily, and contemporaneous with the 
invasion of Greece by Xerxes. So remarkable a coincidence 
could not have been undesigned. Xerxes knew that Gelo, 
the ruler of Syracuse, had a large army and had been asked 
by the Greeks to help them against the Persians. Nothing is 
more likely, therefore, than that Xerxes arranged through the 
Phoenicians that their colonists should invade Sicily and give 
Gelo work to do at home. With this aim a vast Carthaginian 
army landed at Panormus (Palermo) and marched on Himera 
under a general named Hamilcar, intending to conquer the 
island. It was attacked, however, by Gelo of Syracuse and 
Thero of Agrigentum and utterly routed, Hamilcar himself 
being slain ; and about the same time, at Salamis, the forces of 
Xerxes were overthrown. 

About seventy years after Salamis, the Athenians, tempted 415. 

by the inhabitants of Egesta, invaded Sicily, but their armament 

was destroyed at Syracuse, and the Egestians, undeterred by 410. 

(311) 



312 CAETHAGE 

the misery which they had brought upon the Athenians, next 
appealed to the Carthaginians for help. The Carthaginians, 
after some hesitation, again invaded Sicily, and this time they 
were successful. The army was commanded by a grandson of 
Hamilcar named Hannibal, who thought he had wrongs to 
avenge. He did this in barbarous fashion, destroying the 
cities of Selinus and Himera, slaughtering most of their in- 
habitants and selling the rest into slavery. 

Three years later he returned to Sicily, destroyed Agrigen- 
tum, Gela and Camarina, and conquered most of the island. 

405. Syracuse itself seemed likely to fall, but the plague attacked 
Hannibal's army, and he was glad to make peace with 
Dionysius, the ruler of Syracuse, and return to Africa. His 
army brought the plague with it, and it wrought such havoc in 
Carthage that the Greek cities in Sicily were tempted to 
rise against their conquerors, and were so successful that 
only a few strongholds on the western end of the island were 

397. left to the Carthaginians. They had, however, large resources, 
and another army of mercenaries and Carthaginians crossed 
under Himilco, reduced the revolted cities and again besieged 
Syracuse. But once more the plague broke out, and Himilco 
was driven to such straits that he fled with his Carthaginian 
troops, leaving the mercenaries to their fate. The Carthaginians 
made various attempts during the next few years to extend 
their influence in the island, whilst Dionysius tried to drive 

383. them out ; but at last the war was ended by a treaty fixing 
the river Halycus as the boundary between the rival powers, 
and this division held good for a century. 

348. An important event during the next half century was the 

conclusion of a treaty between Rome and Carthage. Rome 
had passed through a crisis — the city having been burnt by the 
Gauls. She soon recovered her power on the land, but she 
had little naval strength, and the treaty was decidedly in 
favour of Carthage. The Romans were precluded from sail- 
ing westward beyond Fair Promontory, but received trading 
privileges in Carthaginian Sicily, Africa and Sardinia, while 



THE STEUGGLE WITH THE GEEEKS 313 

the Carthaginians were to trade freely with Rome and not 
to injure the towns on the coast. 

Dionysius of Syracuse was succeeded by an incapable son, 
and when Carthage resumed her aggressive attitude in the 
island, she seemed likely to conquer all its cities — Syracuse 
amongst the rest. Alarmed at this state of affairs, the 
Syracusans appealed to Corinth, their mother city, and 
Timoleon was sent to help them out of their difficulties. He 
managed matters so adroitly that the Carthaginians went 
home of their own accord, thus giving him time to set the 
affairs of Syracuse in order. They determined, however, to 340. 
make another effort to conquer the island, and landed a large 
army at Lilybseum. Timoleon had difficulty in raising an 
army one-fifth the size of the Carthaginian, but he marched 
boldly to meet them, and routed them utterly, falling upon them 
as they crossed the river Crimesus in a flood. The losses of 
the Carthaginians in this battle were very heavy, and it was 
feared that Timoleon might even attack Carthage herself, but 
this he did not attempt. An army was afterwards sent 
under Gisco, but it achieved little, and the Carthaginians 
made a treaty with Timoleon which left matters much as they 
had been before, the territory west of the Halycus being still 
recognised as Carthaginian. 

After Timoleon's death there was peace in Sicily for a time, 
and then Syracuse fell under a tyrant named Agathocles, who 310. 
ruled so unscrupulously and banished so many of the citizens 
that the Carthaginians were appealed to for help against 
him. Agathocles was universally hated and lost all Sicily, 
except Syracuse, where he was hard pressed by the Cartha- 
ginians. In order to relieve the tension of the situation, 
the tyrant suddenly escaped from Syracuse with his fleet and 
invaded Africa. Winning his first battle by a lucky chance, 
he overran the country and captured city after city until 
Carthage stood almost alone. Hearing, however, that affairs 
at home demanded attention, Agathocles went back for a time, 
and during his absence his army had bad fortune. When he 



314 CAETHAGB 

returned, therefore, seeing no hope of success, he left Africa 
— abandoning his soldiers to their fate. The army, exasper- 
ated at his desertion, slew his sons and then made peace 
with the Carthaginians, some entering their service, the rest 
being allowed free passage to their homes. 

Carthage had been terrorised by Agathocles for four years, 
and he had proved how easy it was to invade Africa. 

281. After these events Italy was invaded by Pyrrhus, king of 

Epirus, a kinsman of Alexander the Great, who burned to 
emulate his relative's conquests. He proposed to conquer 
Southern Italy, Sicily and Carthage, but he had not reckoned 
on the strength of Rome and he found her too hard for him. 

278. After two campaigns in Italy he crossed to Sicily to help the 
Greek cities against Carthage, and he had much success at 
first, but interfering with the government of the cities he lost 

276. popularity and went back to Italy, whence he soon after 

275. returned to Epirus. Early in this war the Carthaginians had 
offered help to the Roman Senate, and though at first declined 
it was afterwards accepted, and the Carthaginian fleet attacked 
Pyrrhus when he was returning from Sicily and destroyed 
many of his vessels. Had Carthage known what the future 
held in store for her she might have left Rome to fight her own 
battles. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BREACH WITH ROME. 

The war between Carthage and Syracuse for the possession 

of Sicily lasted a century and ended, after the expulsion of 

Pyrrhus, by leaving the greater part of the island in the 275. 

hands of the Carthaginians. The war had been fought on 

both sides by mercenaries, many of whom had come from 

Campania, a district inhabited at that time by a somewhat 

reckless people. After the death of Agathocles a band of 

Campanian mercenaries seized the city of Messina, slew or 289. 

expelled the citizens and established themselves in their 

houses, calling themselves " men of Mars," or " Mamertines," 

and living by brigandage and piracy. 

The Mamertines proved dangerous neighbours to the 

Syracusans, plundering the small towns and infringing upon 

their territory, so that Hiero, the ruler of Syracuse, took up 

arms against them, and besieged Messina. When the siege 270. 

had lasted some time and the Mamertines saw that surrender 

was inevitable, they determined to call in a foreign power, 

and debated whether they would ask aid from Carthage or 

from Rome. They sent envoys to Rome, and the Romans 

after some hesitation took the gang of robbers under their 

protection. Meanwhile the Carthaginian party in Messina 

had sent news to Carthage of what was happening, and when 

the Romans arrived, they found the Carthaginians already in 

possession. The Roman consul Appius Claudius, refused to 

be foiled, and having got the Carthaginian general into his 

power he demanded the surrender of the city as the condition 

of his release. 

(315) 



316 GAETHAGE 

The Carthaginians were so incensed with their general 
for thus allowing the Romans to wrest Messina from his 
grasp without a blow, that they executed him, and sent an 
army to endeavour to recapture the place. Hiero allied 
himself with the Carthaginians and attacked the Romans, 
whose presence in the island; threatened Syracuse as well as 
Carthage. But the Romans proved stronger than the com- 

263. bined forces, and at last Hiero submitted and became their 
ally. After this they made rapid progress, and soon the 
whole island, with the exception of certain maritime fortresses 
in which the Carthaginians were strongly entrenched, had 
passed under their power. 

Carthage still ruled the seas, and when she found that her 
armies had been overmatched, she betook herself to her fleet, 
and gave the Romans infinite trouble by sudden descents 
upon the seaboard towns, not only in Sicily but in Italy 
itself. Before Rome could hold her own against Carthage 
she evidently required a fleet to protect her coasts, and if 
necessary carry the war into Africa. Now although the 
Romans had a mercantile marine, they had never been fond 
of fighting at sea and it was no easy matter for them to 
contest with the Carthaginians who were skilled sailors and 
well versed in the manoeuvring and ramming tactics of the 
time. But the Romans adopted an expedient which made 
all the naval skill of the Carthaginians worthless and gave 
them unquestionable superiority, Each ship was fitted with 
a boarding bridge which swung round and grappled, by means 
of a sharp claw, with the ship of the enemy. As soon as two 
vessels drew together, the bridge was dropped, and Roman 
soldiers poured across, against whose superior strength and 
arms the half-naked Africans had no chance. 

260< Encouraged by a great naval victory at Mylse the Senate 

determined to carry the war into Africa itself, and sent Regulus 

256. with an expedition. A fiercely-contested sea fight at Ecnomus 
resulted in the defeat of the Carthaginians, and the Romans 
landing in Africa began operations against Carthage. 



THE BEEACH WITH EOME 317 

So confident were they now of success that half the army- 
was sent home — Regulus remaining with 15,000 men. It 
seemed as if the Romans must at once succeed, for the sur- 
rounding towns surrendered without a struggle, and the 
Numidians, who never loved Carthage, rose in rebellion. The 
Carthaginians lost heart, and sued for peace, but the con- 
ditions offered by Regulus were so severe that they resolved 
to fight to the bitter end. It happened just then that some 
Greek mercenaries came across, amongst whom was a Spartan 
captain named Xanthippus, and the control of military affairs 
was placed in his hands. Being an excellent general, he 
inspired them with so much confidence that they defeated 255. 
Regulus in a pitched battle, made him prisoner, and nearly 
annihilated his army. The remnant of the Romans en- 
trenched themselves at Clupea and were rescued by their fleet ; 
but on their way home three-fourths of the vessels perished 
in a storm. 

These favours of fortune so encouraged the Carthaginians 
that they again invaded Sicily, landing a strong force at 
Lilybseum. The Romans, though discouraged from further 
attempts to invade Africa, determined to keep Sicily and sent 
forces for that purpose ; and after varied fortune and heavy 
losses at sea, they won a victory over the Carthaginians at 250. 
Palermo. The very next year, however, they sustained 
reverses, losing a great part of their fleet — first in a sea fight 
at Drepanum, and afterwards in a storm. 

The war between Rome and Carthage had now been drag- 
ging on for sixteen years, and the Roman losses by sea, land 
and sickness in Sicily, had been extremely heavy. So far as 
Carthage was concerned, the loss had been chiefly financial, as 
the African city carried on her wars largely by the aid of 
mercenaries ; nevertheless she also was weary of the war, 
and for a while both sides showed slackness. During this 
period Carthage produced her first great general, Hamilcar 
Barca, who took over command in Sicily, settling with his 
forces on Monte Pellegrino and ravaging Sicily and the 



318 CARTHAGE 

coasts of Southern Italy at will. Hamilcar was more than a 
match for the Roman generals who were sent against him, 
and as the Carthaginians also held Lilybseum and Drepanum 
it seemed as if a few years more must see the Romans thrust 
out of Sicily. At last they made a determined effort to regain 
their supremacy. The treasury was exhausted, but private 
citizens came forward and raised a fleet of 200 vessels manned 

241. by 60,000 men. The Carthaginians who had allowed their fleet 
to fall out of repair were taken by surprise and being easily 
defeated had no option but to conclude a peace, binding 
themselves to abandon Sicily and the adjacent islands, and to 
pay an enormous war indemnity. Thus after twenty-four 
years of fighting the first Punic war came to an end, and 
the Carthaginians formally surrendered an island they had 
partially occupied for 400 years. 

They were not yet however free from trouble. Hamil- 
car's mercenaries, most of whom belonged to the desert 
tribes which surrounded the territory of Carthage, had for 
years received no wages, and he sent them back to Africa in 
small detachments, in order that they might be paid off' and 
allowed to scatter to their homes. But the Carthaginian 
authorities foolishly waited until the whole army had landed, 
and then tried to curtail their pay and allowances, the result 
being a mutiny which quickly became an insurrection, and 
was not quelled without three years of bloodshed. 

238. Whilst this war was in progress, Rome seized the Island of 

Sardinia, which had been Carthaginian for centuries, so that 
Carthage emerged from the struggle with the loss of two 
provinces and the burden of a war indemnity. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE RISE OF HANNIBAL. 

After the war with Rome and the Numidian revolt Hamil- 
car, the Carthaginian general, became the leading man in 
the state and commander in chief for all Africa. He 
felt that the peace with Rome could only be looked upon 
as temporary ; for though the Romans were satisfied for the 
moment, the time would come when they would attempt 
the conquest of Africa, and the entire subjugation of Carth- 
age. It was necessary therefore that Carthage should 
strengthen her hands and enlarge the area from which her 
resources could be drawn, yet it was hopeless to think of 
finding this enlargement in any part of the Mediterranean 
where Rome had already obtained a footing. Hamilcar's 
thoughts therefore turned to Spain, a country in which the 
Phoenicians had settled a thousand years before, and with 
which Carthage had trafficked for centuries. Surely in Spain 
his city might be permitted to work out her destiny without 
Roman interference. 

Hamilcar marched from Carthage as if meditating conquest 
in Africa, but suddenly crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and 236. 
landed in Spain. We have few details of his work there, but 
we know that for nine years he toiled, establishing a great 
province for his country ; and not only supporting himself and 
his army, but sending home large sums of money to Carthage. 
When he fell in battle he left his son-in-law Hasdrubal to 228. 
carry on his work, and he laboured for eight years more at the 

task of conciliation and consolidation, until Carthage had 

(319) 



320 CARTHAGE 

in Spain a magnificent province and a rich field for enter- 
prise. 

For a time the Romans did not actively interfere, and when 
at length they sent commissioners to Spain to investigate, 
these were informed that the conquest was undertaken in order 
to provide means for paying the indemnity. With a view to 
possible eventualities they made alliance with two Greek 
towns on the coast, Saguntum and Emporiae, and notified 
Hasdrubal of this, warning him at the same time not to push 
his conquests beyond the Ebro. After ruling the province for 
220. eight years Hasdrubal was assassinated, and Hannibal, the eldest 
son of Hamilcar, was chosen general by the officers of the 
Spanish army. 

This extraordinary man, now in his twenty-ninth year, had 
seen war from childhood, and had commanded the cavalry 
under Hasdrubal, his brother-in-law, since the death of his 
father Hamilcar. He had proved himself a splendid cavalry 
officer, and was about to prove himself a great general, one 
of the greatest the world has ever seen. 

It is probable that Hamilcar had intended to invade Italy 
as soon as he became possessed of adequate resources. He 
had seen how vulnerable Carthage was when attacked, and 
how her subjects fell from her ; and knowing that much of 
Italy had acknowledged the supremacy of Rome under com- 
pulsion, he hoped the subject states would fall from her in the 
same way if Italy were invaded. Seventeen years had passed 
since Hamilcar landed in Spain, and though he and his suc- 
cessor died before their plans could be carried out, they made 
them feasible by leaving to Hannibal a splendid province and 
a devoted and highly-trained army. Hannibal determined to 
lose no time in attacking Rome, and began by besieging 
Saguntum, the city with which the Romans were in alliance. 
Saguntum held out for eight months, so that a year was lost 
before Hannibal could prepare definitely for his attack upon 
Italy. The Romans evidently did not contemplate being 
attacked at home, but they sent envoys to Carthage to ask 






THE EISE OF HANNIBAL 321 

whether it was by order of the government that Hannibal 
had attacked Saguntum, and as they got no satisfaction the 
second Punic war began. 218. 

Hannibal's Spanish forces amounted to 140,000 men, and 
after he had sent a detachment to Africa for its protection, 
and left another with his brother Hasdrubal in Spain, he had 
100,000 left for the invasion of Italy. He determined not to 
expose himself and his army to the perils of the sea, but 
to reach Italy by way of the Alps, and he had for some 
time been negotiating with divers Celtic tribes who had 
promised either neutrality or active assistance. Before he 
could reach the Alps he had to conquer Spain between the 
Ebro and the Pyrenees and to cross Southern France. The 
first part of the journey cost him dear, for the tribes were 
in arms, and before he reached the Pyrenees his army was 
diminished by one-fourth. At the Pyrenees he allowed all 
who were faint-hearted to return home, so that the army with 
which he entered France was only 60,000 strong. 

During the progress of Hannibal's preparations the Romans 
had been culpably negligent, especially in connection with 
the siege of Saguntum. Had they sent an army to Spain to 
relieve the city, it would have made matters harder for Hanni- 
bal ; and had they helped the native tribes when they opposed 
his march from the Ebro to the Pyrenees, he might never have 
dared to leave Spain. They at last determined to act, and sent 
Sempronius to Sicily to prepare for the invasion of Africa, 
whilst Publius Scipio went by way of Marseilles to invade 
Spain. When Scipio reached Marseilles he heard that Hanni- 
bal had already crossed the Pyrenees and was at hand. He 
therefore determined to contest the passage of the Rhone and 
made arrangements with the Celts to that effect, but Hannibal 
reached the river four days' march above the point where 
Scipio was stationed, and, outwitting the Celts on guard, 
crossed without loss and was three days' march forward on his 
journey before Scipio reached the ford. Accordingly he gave 

up the chase and sending the greater part of his army to Spain 

21 



322 CAETHAGE 

under his brother Gnaeus Scipio, returned with the rest to 
Italy to await the progress of events. 
218. Meanwhile Hannibal was crossing the Alps, probably by 

the Little St. Bernard pass. This was the route usually 
taken by the Celts, but though one of the easiest passes, 
Hannibal found it hard enough. He had done his best 
to gain the friendship of the mountain tribes, but some of 
them were implacable, and much of the way had to be won by 
hard fighting. Apart from this, the natural difficulties to be 
overcome in getting an army with its horses, elephants and 
baggage over the mountains, were very great. The stories 
told by Livy about melting the rocks by fire and vinegar are 
pure imagination, but the crossing was an extraordinary feat, 
especially as it was performed in the beginning of winter by 
men accustomed to the genial warmth of Spain, and the burn- 
ing sun of Africa. When at length the mountains were crossed, 
of the army which left France only one half descended into 
the plains of Hither Gaul, and these " looked not like men 
but like their phantoms or their shadows ". Had the Romans 
been ready to attack the worn-out travellers as they descended, 
there could scarcely have been a doubt as to the result ; but 
they were not there, and Hannibal had time to give his men 
much-needed rest. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CONQUEST OP ITALY. 

Hannibal had now about 30,000 men, an army incapable of 
itself performing the work which he had mapped out, but he 
confidently expected that the Celtic tribes of Cis- Alpine Gaul 
among whom he had descended, would rally to his banner 
from hatred to the Romans. He was disappointed at first, for 
the Taurini refused to join him, and he had to spend three days 
in capturing Turin their capital. 

Publius Scipio, having landed at Pisa and collected forces, 
crossed the river Po and marched to meet Hannibal, whilst 
Sempronius, who had been recalled from Sicily, was hastening 
to effect a junction with him. At the Ticinus the cavalry of 218. 
Rome and Africa met, and the Romans were worsted, Scipio 
himself being wounded in the encounter. Avoiding a general 
engagement, therefore, he fell back on Placentia, to await the 
arrival of his colleague. When Sempronius joined him the 
Romans were 40,000 strong, and though Scipio was still 
suffering from his wound, Sempronius determined to bring 
on a pitched battle, and Hannibal, who had accurate knowledge 
of all that was passing in the Roman camp, was nothing loth. 

The river Trebia lay between the combatants, not deep, 
but swollen with rain, and very early in the morning Hannibal 
sent his light cavalry across to skirmish with the Romans and 
tempt them to pursue. The Roman light-armed troops, falling 
into the trap, chased the cavalry and suddenly found them- 
selves in a position from which there was no escape, unless 
the heavy troops came to their support. These crossed and 

fought bravely, but wet and miserably cold could make but 

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324 CAETHAGE 

a feeble stand against the vigorous and high-spirited forces of 
the enemy. The Romans were routed : the first division, 
10,000 strong, cut its way through the Carthaginians and 
escaped to Placentia — the rest were either slaughtered or made 
prisoners. The season was far advanced, and with this decisive 
battle the first campaign came to an end, the remains of the 
Roman army sheltering in the fortresses, whilst Hannibal 
spent the winter resting his army and organising an insur- 
rection amongst the Celtic tribes which spread with great 
rapidity. Such was the effect of the battle of the Trebia 
upon the Celts that more than 60,000 of them joined his army. 
217. Although the news of this disaster caused annoyance in 

Rome, no one thought of serious danger, and Flaminius and 
Servilius, the new consuls, were sent in leisurely fashion to 
block the passes over the Apennines lest Hannibal should 
attempt to pass southward into Italy in the spring ; or to cross 
and attack him in the valley of the Po, in the event of his 
remaining there on the defensive, which seemed more probable. 
The Romans did not yet understand the man with whom they 
had to deal. Hannibal had no intention of remaining on the 
defensive. He knew right well that the power of Rome was 
greater than that of any army he could bring against her, 
unless he could persuade her subjects to rebel. Now, so far 
as concerned the Celtic tribes he had done well enough. But 
the Celtic tribes were not properly members of the Roman 
confederacy : it was the Italians, and above all the Latins, who 
must help him if his enterprise was to be successful. It was 
no part of his programme therefore to remain north of the 
Apennines ; and in the early spring, before the Romans deemed 
the roads passable, he marched southward. There were ap- 
parently but two roads a general could take in coming south, 
either by Ariminum or by Arezzo, so Servilius was posted at 
the former, Flaminius at the latter. But Hannibal found a 
third, and brought men down the western side of Italy by a 
road which led the armies for days through the marshes of 
the Arno. The march was most distressing, many died, and 



THE CONQUEST OF ITALY 325 

Hannibal lost an eye through ophthalmia, but he gained his 
point and turned the Roman position. Flaminius had talked 
boastfully about what he would do if he were sent against 
Hannibal, and great was his chagrin at being outwitted. 
Hannibal, knowing his man, passed him as if he did not 
exist, and began pillaging the country on every side, until 
Flaminius lost patience utterly, and instead of waiting for the 
other consul to join him, marched rapidly after Hannibal. 
When Hannibal knew that Flaminius was giving chase he 
waylaid him, occupying the heights overlooking the road 
skirting the Trasimene Lake. The Romans marched into this 
valley in the morning mist, and suddenly found themselves 
surrounded on every side. Fighting was almost impossible, 
many were drowned in the lake, the rest were slaughtered. 
A few, six thousand in all, cut their way through and escaped, 
but only to be captured next day. Now at last Rome was 
roused to a sense of her danger. Etruria was lost, no army 
lay between Hannibal and the capital, and if he chose to 
march upon the city, there was nothing to bar his way. Forti- 
fications were at once thrown up and manned, the bridges 
broken down, new legions levied. Hannibal, however, did not 
trouble himself about Rome, but marched east to the Adriatic 
where, in lovely weather and amidst pleasant surroundings, 
his troops reposed for a time. 

The victories at the Trebia and on the Trasimene Lake 
gave Hannibal so much spoil that he was able to arm and 
organise his African soldiers on the Roman plan, and when 
he had done this at his leisure, he marched southward through 
the Samnian territory. He had expected much help from the 
Samnites, the fiercest foes with which Rome had contended in 
earlier times. But things had changed now, and Hannibal's 
heart must have sunk within him as town after town closed 
its gates. Then he thought that the Campanians might 
revolt, and so he marched towards Capua, but was again 
disappointed, and, turning eastward, he made his way to 
Apulia. 



326 CAETHAGE 

The Romans recovered from their fright and sent another 
army to try its fortune, commanded by Fabius, an old and 
obstinate but able general. Fabius, adopting a new policy, 
avoided a pitched battle, and tried to wear out Hannibal by 
watching him, cutting off stragglers and making it difficult 
for him to obtain supplies. At length, however, the Romans, 
tired of so much caution, appointed Minucius to an inde- 
pendent command with orders to hasten matters, whereupon 
he was tempted into battle, and would have been annihilated 
had not Fabius come to the rescue. 

Notwithstanding this reverse the Senate determined to take 
216. the offensive, and opened the next campaign by sending an 
army of 90,000 men against Hannibal, whose forces were not 
more than half that number. Hannibal had captured Cannae, 
a Roman citadel, and the generals took up a position between 
Cannae and the Carthaginian camp and offered battle. 
Hannibal's arrangement of his troops was masterly. The 
Romans advanced in deep files, Hannibal in the form of a 
crescent, the Celtic troops meeting the enemy first, the heavier 
troops who formed the horns of the crescent being drawn 
back. The Celts, unable to withstand the Roman legions, 
gradually retired, but as they did so, the horns of the crescent 
with Hannibal's African and Spanish troops closed, and soon 
the Romans found themselves hemmed in — front and flank. 
To make matters worse the heavy Carthaginian cavalry, 
having in successive charges scattered the Roman cavalry on 
both wings, once more wheeled and attacked the Romans in 
the rear. The rest was slaughter. The Romans, crowded in 
a mass, could not use their weapons and were cut down where 
they stood. In that battle fell the consul, Lucius Paulus ; 
Servilius ; the proconsul, Minucius ; the flower of the Roman 
staff-officers, and 70,000 men. Now indeed was Rome shaken 
to her foundations. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE TURN OF THE TIDE. 

It is natural to wonder why Hannibal did not make a dash at 216. 
Rome after Cannae, and Maharbal, his cavalry officer, is said to 
have advised this course. Had he done so, he might by a 
lucky stroke have gained possession of the city, and been able 
to dictate his own terms to the enemy, but such good fortune 
was unlikely. Rome was well fortified and, though he had 
slain one-seventh of the Italians capable of bearing arms, every 
citizen was a soldier, and enough remained to stand a prolonged 
siege — a work for which his army had no aptitude even had it 
been large enough. On the other hand it seemed certain that 
the effect of Cannae would be to break down the Roman 
confederacy and give Hannibal many allies ; and for these he 
determined to wait. For a time it seemed as if his hopes were 
to be fulfilled, for many of the Bruttians, Lucanians, Apulians 
and Samnites declared in his favour, so that he had a large 
following in Lower Italy. Capua, the chief city in Campania 
and second city in Italy, also passed over to him, and as it 
could put 30,000 men in the field this was no small gain. But 
the Latin colonies in Southern Italy, the South Italian Greeks 
and the Greek cities of Campania, adhered resolutely to Rome. 
Had Hannibal's army been big enough to enable him to conquer 
these cities and garrison them in detail all might have been 
well, but it was not, and the hostility of so many important 
places made the friendship of the rest of little avail. At Rome 
the terrible misfortune of the battle of Cannae sobered the 
people, hushed their political bickerings and restored the sense 

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328 CAETHAGE 

of unity between rich and poor. The magnitude of the disaster 
was so great that there was hardly a house in which there was 
not one dead, and the common loss led to common sympathy. 
Reforms were set on foot in every department, and above all 
the practice of sending civil officers to command armies, regard- 
less of military qualifications, was given up and experienced 
men chosen instead. 

While his enemies were thus setting their house in order and 
preparing with stern purpose for the future, Hannibal failed 
to receive the reinforcements he had hoped for either from 
Spain or Carthage. His brother Hasdrubal was loyal to his 
interests in Spain and would gladly have sent help, but he had 
been worsted by the Scipios and they commanded all the routes 
by which he could have passed. The Carthaginians on the 
other hand were culpably negligent. Hannibal had a right 
to expect that they would at once send reinforcements on the 
most generous scale, but through political jealousy they de- 
liberately refrained from so doing and contented themselves 
with wasting their strength in Sicily and sending him a 
miserable contingent of 4,000 men when they might just as 
easily have sent him 40,000. Had they from the beginning 
disavowed Hannibal and all his works, and told the Romans 
so, their position would have been intelligible ; but they had 
not done this ; they were actually at war with Rome in various 
places, yet they neglected Hannibal and thus sacrificed their 
greatest general, their best prospects, and, as it turned out, their 
existence itself. 

The battle of Cannae brought Hannibal's fortunes to a 
climax. Not that they at once began to fall. For thirteen 
years after that battle he remained in Italy, unconquered and 
unconquerable. But as time went on, and his resources 
steadily diminished whilst those of his antagonists increased, 
he knew that his great design, magnificently conceived and, 
so far as his own part was concerned, magnificently executed, 
had failed, and that the city which had given him birth, 
but which had proved unworthy of him, was doomed. 



THE TUEN OF THE TIDE 329 

It is scarcely necessary to follow in detail the rest of 
Hannibal's career in Italy. His troops spent the winter after 215. 
Cannae in Capua, and next year again took the field. The 
Romans began the campaign with three armies, and were so 
cautious that Hannibal made no further progress. On the field 
of battle he could hold his own with any and every foe, but 
when his enemies stood on the defensive his limited forces 
could accomplish little against them. He made an effort to 
obtain the help of Philip, king of Macedonia, but it came 
to nothing ; in Sicily, Hiero, who had been so faithful an 
ally to Rome, died, and Hieronymus, his successor, declared for 
Carthage but was assassinated, and though the Romans had 
plenty of trouble in the island, no substantial help came to 
Hannibal from that quarter. 

In Spain the struggle went on continually, and with 
many changes of fortune. Publius and Gnseus Scipio were 
there — such excellent generals and administrators that they 
almost drove the Carthaginians from Spain. They even 
fomented rebellion against them in Africa, so that Hasdrubal, 
Hannibal's brother, had to cross the straits. Hasdrubal was, 
however, successful in pacifying Africa ; and returning with 
Massinissa, a brilliant African general, he defeated and killed 212. 
the Scipios and regained for Carthage all Spain south of the 
Ebro. Next year the Romans sent Claudius Nero to Spain, 
but he proved unsuccessful, so Cornelius Scipio, the son of 
Publius Scipio who had been slain, was appointed to the 
command— a young man afterwards destined to become 
famous as Scipio Africanus. 

Cornelius Scipio began his career in Spain brilliantly, 209. 
surprising New Carthage (Cartagena) with the Phoenician 
war stores, and recovering a large section of Spain for 
Rome. 

Next year Hasdrubal determined to help his brother at 208. 
all hazards, and accordingly set out on his march to Italy. 
Scipio is said to have worsted him at Baccula on the Guadal- 
quiver, but the defeat cannot have been very serious, for 



330 CARTHAGE 

Hasdrubal went on his way to the Pyrenees, and in the spring 

207. of the following year crossed the Alps. 

Meanwhile Hannibal had barely held his own. Rome 
had now, in one place or another, 200,000 men in the field, 
and although the burden was heavy, she was slowly regain- 
ing what she had lost. Hannibal had a little good fortune from 

212. time to time. He captured the important city of Tarentum, 
but failed to take the citadel, which remained in the hands of 
the Roman garrison. On the other hand he lost Capua, which 
was besieged by the Romans for two years, and which he 
in vain endeavoured to relieve. On one occasion he marched 
on Rome, hoping thus to induce the armies lying round Capua 
to leave their fortified lines, but they were too wary, and after 
encamping within five miles of Rome, he returned. When at 
last Capua fell, notwithstanding his best efforts, it was a 
sign to Italy that Hannibal had reached the limit of his power 
and that the end drew near. He did all he could, but his 
forces were not large enough to enable him both to win and 
to keep, and at last he had to withdraw to the south-west 
corner of the island. 

207. This then was the condition of Hannibal's affairs when 

Hasdrubal crossed the Alps, and we can well understand how 
urgently Hannibal must have entreated him to come. The 
Romans, aware of Hasdrubal's intentions, made their pre- 
parations with care. Two armies were in the field, the army 
of the north under Livius waiting for Hasdrubal, whilst that 
of the south under Nero watched Hannibal. Hasdrubal sent 
a letter to his brother explaining his intentions and proposing 
a place of meeting, but the letter fell into the hands of Nero, 
who, profiting by the information gained, took 8,000 picked 
troops, hastened north, joined Livius, and came upon Hasdrubal 
at the Metaurus. The Carthaginian army, taken at a serious 
disadvantage, was destroyed, and Hasdrubal himself slain. 
Nero returned at once to the south and threw Hasdrubal's 
head to his brother's outposts. It was carried to Hannibal, 
and the brave general, his last hope gone, retired to 



THE TUEN OF THE TIDE 331 

Bruttium, from the ports of which he could at will escape 
to Africa. 

The defeat of Hasdrubal was a greater disaster to Carthage 
than it seemed. It destroyed Hannibal's hopes, about which 
the Carthaginians cared little, but it went further, for it made 
the loss of Spain a certainty, and the loss of Spain released 
Cornelius Scipio, the only general capable of undertaking the 
invasion of Africa. Scipio captured Gades and having driven 
Mago, the youngest brother of Hannibal, out of Spain, 
returned to Rome, where he was reappointed general with 206. 
orders to carry the war into Africa. 

The Carthaginians at last acted with vigour, sending 
Mago to Genoa to rouse the Celts, and sending reinforcements 
to Hannibal. But it was too late to help Hannibal, and too 
late to prevent invasion. Scipio made his preparations in 
leisurely fashion in Sicily, and landed unopposed near Utica 204* 
with 30,000 men. Unfortunately the Carthaginians had alien- 
ated Massinissa, formerly so helpful to Hasdrubal in Spain, 
having taken Syphax, their former enemy, into favour and 
deprived Massinissa of his possessions. He now at once 
joined Scipio and became an invaluable ally. 

Scipio was not at first successful, and had to entrench 203. 
himself during the winter, but next year he surprised and 
burnt the Carthaginian camp and routed their forces. The 
peace party in Carthage now came forward, and Scipio, 
anxious to close the war, offered reasonable terms, and sent 
envoys to Rome to obtain their confirmation. But the Cartha- 
ginians, ever wavering, recalled Hannibal and Mago, and de- 
termined to try the fortune of war once more. Mago had 
been wounded and died on the voyage, but Hannibal came at 
once, " leaving," says Livy, "the country of his enemies with 
more regret than many an exile has left his own ". It was 
thirty-six years since he had trod his native soil, fifteen of 
these years had been spent in Italy, and he had never been 
seriously defeated. 

Hannibal did not at once meet Scipio in battle. He 



332 CARTHAGE 

wintered at Hadrumetum, and made efforts to win the Nu- 
midian chiefs to alliance. At last, however, the two great 

202. generals met at Zama, and a decisive battle was fought. Much 
of Hannibal's army consisted of unseasoned Carthaginian 
troops, and although his veterans fought like lions, they could 
not prevail, and the Phoenician army was annihilated. Han- 
nibal escaped to Hadrumetum with a handful of followers. 

After such a battle there was nothing to be thought of but 
peace, and Scipio proposed terms which though severe were 
not unreasonable and do credit to his generosity. By these 

201. terms, as they were afterwards definitely fixed at Rome, the 
Carthaginians had to give up all claim to Spain and the islands 
of the Mediterranean, to recognise Massinissa as king of 
Numidia, to refrain from waging war, unless with the consent 
of Rome, and to pay a large indemnity. The second Punic 
war therefore left Carthage a town instead of an empire, 
and made Rome supreme in the Western Mediterranean. 



CHAPTER VII. 

DELENDA EST CARTHAGO. 

The enterprise begun by Hamilcar and carried on by Has- 
drubal and Hannibal had ended disastrously for Carthage, 
and it would have been well had it never been undertaken. 
Yet we must remember that Hamilcar had conceived the 
foundation of the Spanish empire after Rome had unjustly 
interfered in Sicily, thrusting Carthage out of a province 
which she had held for 400 years. There is nothing to 
show that either Hamilcar or Hannibal contemplated the 
destruction of- Rome. Their only desire was to humble her, 
to keep her ambition within proper limits, and to make good 
terms for their own state. It would not have been well had 
Africa triumphed over Europe, but it would have been better 
for Rome and for humanity had the city learnt humility at 
this stage in her history. 

During the next half century Rome expanded greatly as 
an empire, but decayed in morality ; she became mistress of 
the world, but lost the mastery over herself — earnest endeavour 
and patriotism making way for greed, selfishness and cruelty. 

Hannibal was now the first citizen in Carthage, and 

he at once set himself to reform the abuses which existed 

in the state, filling up the council of " The Hundred " by 

election instead of co-option, and so improving the financial 

system that the Carthaginians scarcely felt the enormous 

indemnity which they had to pay. But in every state 

the reformer creates enemies for himself, and Hannibal's 

enemies are said to have wickedly accused him to the 

(333) 



334 CAETHAGE 

Romans, as intending to make war upon them again. They 
therefore demanded his surrender, and as his friends were 
unable to protect him, he fled to Tyre and from Tyre to 
the court of Antiochus, king of Syria. After the defeat of 
the Syrians by the Romans, he took refuge in Bithynia and 
for some years was unmolested, but at last the hatred of 
the Romans followed him even there, and rather than become 

183. a prisoner he took poison. Thus died at the age of sixty-four 
the greatest military genius of the ancient world, and in the 
same year died Scipio Africanus, the only man who could boast 
that he had vanquished him. 

Carthage, like most great trading cities, recuperated rapidly 
after the cessation of war, for though she had lost her do- 
minions she retained her trade. Had she been left alone, she 
would soon have been as formerly the first commercial city in 
the world, but this was not to be. There was a clause in the 
treaty which forbade her to declare war without the consent 
of Rome, and this clause prevented self-defence when the 
Carthaginians were attacked. Massinissa their neighbour did 
not hesitate to take advantage of their position, constantly 
encroaching upon their territory, and when they appealed to 
Rome they got no redress. Cato, a Roman senator, was sent 
at the head of a commission to settle one of these disputes. 
He was a miserably narrow-minded man, and when he saw 
how prosperous Carthage was, notwithstanding her reverses, 
he determined to compass her destruction, and from that 
moment no matter what the subject of his speeches might 
be, he ended them with the brutal words : " Also I say that 
Carthage must be destroyed ". 

151. At last the encroachments of Massinissa becoming un- 

bearable, the Carthaginians took up arms against him, thus 
breaking the terms of the treaty. An embassy was sent to 
Rome to explain the circumstances, but the Romans had been 
waiting for the chance, Cato's persistence had carried the day, 
the fiat had gone forth, the city was doomed. 

An army was prepared, and sent under Manilius and 



DELENDA EST CAETHAGO 335 

Censorinus the consuls, nor did the Carthaginians know of a 
certainty that war had been declared until the fleet had sailed. 149. 
Even then they tried to bring the Romans to reason, humbling 
themselves in every way and sending envoys with power to 
make peace on any terms. The Senate promised to guarantee 
territory, freedom and property to the Carthaginians, if they 
would send 300 hostages, and perform whatever else the 
consuls demanded. The Carthaginians sent the hostages 
gladly, upon which the consuls demanded the disarming of 
the city. Had there been a statesman amongst the Cartha- 
ginians he would now have seen whither things were tending 
and would have refused to go further. But there was no 
master-mind in Carthage, and the council obsequiously sur- 
rendered all the arms in the city. When the surrender was 
complete the consuls announced that the city was to be de- 
stroyed, but that the inhabitants could settle wherever else 
they liked so long as it was ten miles from the sea-shore. 
Now indeed the Carthaginians saw how they had been be- 
trayed, and sternly prepared for resistance, gaining time by 
pretended negotiations. The gates were closed, and night 
and day, men, women and children toiled, making arms 
to take the place of those which had been surrendered, so 
that when the consuls approached, hoping to enter without 
resistance, they found the battlements crowded with armed 
men. Carthage was a strong city, for it stood on a pro- 
montory surrounded on three sides by the sea, whilst on 
the landward side it was strongly fortified. The consuls had 
also to deal with inland forces, for the territory belonging to 
Carthage was still capable of keeping an army in the field. 
They therefore had no easy task to perform, their first 
efforts ended in failure, and had it not been for the ability 
shown by an adopted son of Scipio Africanus the expedition 
would have ended in disaster. 

The consuls who had brought the army to Africa were 148. 
superseded by Piso and Mancinus, who were as unsuccessful 
as their predecessors, and but for intrigues and the absence of 



336 CAETHAGE 

generalship amongst the Carthaginians things might have gone 
badly for Rome. 

147 « At last the Romans lost patience and gave the command 

to Scipio, electing him consul before the usual time. With 
his appointment fresh energy was put into the siege ; and dis- 
cipline, which had become greatly relaxed, was re-established. 
The Megara, a quarter of Carthage inhabited by the wealthy 
classes, was captured, and the defenders had to abandon the 
outer works and congregate inside the city. The siege now 
became a blockade and in order more effectually to cut off 
Carthage from the outer world, Scipio constructed a mole 
which closed the harbour with the Carthaginians ships 
inside. With extraordinary pertinacity the Carthaginians 
made a new entrance and a new fleet, and but for short- 
sightedness, might have taken the Romans by surprise and 
destroyed their fleet. Unfortunately they missed the golden 
opportunity. The summer of that year passed away, and 
Scipio with all his genius had not made any very great 
impression upon the city, but during the winter famine and 

146. pestilence did their work, so that when he renewed the attack 
in the spring his task proved more easy. First the harbour 
was captured, and then the streets were stormed during six 
days of fighting and massacre — the Romans only advancing 
step by step, so desperate was the resistance of the citizens. At 
last the citadel was reached, to facilitate his operations against 
which Scipio ordered that the surrounding streets should 
be burnt and levelled, and in the conflagration thousands who 
had concealed themselves in the cellars perished. A deputa- 
tion came from the citadel to plead for mercy, and when 
Scipio granted bare life, 50,000 men, women and children 
issued forth. Only 900 Roman deserters remained, and these, 
knowing that there was no hope of mercy for them and 
maddened by famine, set fire to the temple in which they had 
congregated and perished in the flames. A considerable por- 
tion of the city still remained, and Scipio, willing to save it, 
sent to Rome for further instructions. Notwithstanding his 



DELENDA EST CAETHAGO 337 

appeal and the earnest pleading of a few noble men, the Senate 
sent the pitiless command to destroy the city utterly, and to 
plough up the ground upon which it stood. The command 
was carried out, the ruins burned for seventeen days, and 
when all was silent, Scipio, by order of the Senate, pronounced 
a solemn curse upon any who should dare to rebuild the city. 
Rome had her wish— the long struggle was at an end- 
Carthage was no more. 



22 



GREECE. 



GREECE. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE PLACE OP LEGEND IN GREEK HISTORY. 

In most countries history is prefaced by legend, and generally 
the legend is of little value. But Greek legend is like no 
other — it is surpassingly beautiful and historically suggestive, 
and it may not be lightly brushed aside if we would appreciate 
the character, and understand the history of the race from 
which it sprang. 

Not only do the legends prove to us that a thousand years 
before the Christian era there were, amongst the Greeks, 
poets of great merit, and that the Greek language was even 
then pure and beautiful, but they also teach us many things 
concerning the government, social life and religion of the 
Greeks at that early period. For experience shows that how- 
ever freely a poet may idealise his characters, and give rein to 
his imagination in constructing his plot, he generally places 
his subjects in surroundings familiar to his readers and to 
himself. 

The grandest of all the Greek legends are those of Homer 
which have come down to us in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The 
Iliad tells us how a Greek army, led by Agamemnon, crossed 
to the Asiatic coast and laid siege to Troy. The siege lasted 
for ten years, and the city, taken at last by stratagem, was 
destroyed, but some of the inhabitants escaped, amongst whom 
was iEneas who is said in later legends to have landed in 
Italy and founded the Latin race. 

That such a city as Troy really existed there can be no 

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342 GEEECE 

doubt, for the remains of temples, and objects of art, have been 
found by explorers on its reputed site, but it must have been 
a small place and the story is mainly imaginary. Neverthe- 
less the Iliad gives us a graphic picture of Greek life in time 
of war, whilst the Odyssey, which relates the travels of 
Ulysses, tells us much about the home life of the people. 
From varied evidence, and particularly from the political 
geography of these poems, we know that they must have 
been written before the eleventh century, and thus, though 
they are not themselves historical, they furnish an invaluable 
record of the manners and customs of the Greeks at that 
time. 
1100. We know then, that at that early date, Greece was in- 
habited by scattered tribal communities acknowledging kinship 
but maintaining autonomy. These were governed by kings 
of the patriarchal type, the king being also priest, judge and 
commander-in chief. As the communities were small, he 
was not greatly elevated above his neighbours, but was entitled 
to certain dues and a suitable share of the public land. Apart 
from this he was like the others, keeping little state, having 
few attendants, and labouring with his hands. In later Greek 
society the institution of slavery corrupted the people, and led 
them to despise manual labour, but in early times a man 
skilful with his hands was highly esteemed — the king followed 
the plough, and the princess superintended her maidens when 
they dressed the linen. 

Next to the king came the nobles or elders, the heads of 
the principal families, with whom he took counsel in important 
matters, and after these the rest of the people, sometimes 
small landowners, sometimes poor and working for hire. 
When matters of high importance were on hand the people 
were summoned ; and when the decision come to by the king 
and his council had been proclaimed, the assembly showed 
its approval by shouts, its disapproval by silence. 

Domestic life was somewhat refined in character. Poly- 
gamy was rare, the force of parental authority great, women 



THE PLACE OF LEGEND IN GEEEK HISTOEY 343 

were respected, and the mother occupied a position of 
dignity. 

There were slaves, mostly captured in war, but in early 
times they were not numerous, and they seem to have been 
well treated on the whole. 

There was, of course, a dark side to the picture. Might was 
right, war was prosecuted with cruelty, the dead bodies of 
enemies were mutilated, plundering was common on shore, 
piracy on sea. 

In those early days the Greeks had not taken to com- 
merce. Even then the Phoenicians were great mariners, 
planting colonies, exploring every likely inlet, bartering the 
wares of Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria and their own cities, for 
minerals, timber, wool, and the shell-fish from which the dye 
was extracted for which they were so famous. The Greeks 
were agricultural and pastoral, but coming into contact with 
the Phoenician merchants, they learned shipbuilding and navi- 
gation, and soon vied with their instructors in seamanship and 
enterprise. 

From the poems we also learn much concerning the religion 
of the Greeks. They worshipped many gods, and their gods 
were after the likeness of human beings. The chief deities 
were those of Olympus, of whom Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, 
Ares, Hephsestos and Hermes were gods, whilst Here, 
Athene, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hestia and Demeter were god- 
desses. There were many other deities and demigods, and 
monsters like the Gorgons and the Harpies. 

The Greek legends taught that the gods had made five 
distinct races of men. First came the golden race, not men 
made of gold, but men with qualities so precious that the gods 
had taken them up to be with themselves. Next they made 
the silver race, men of a lower type, reckless mischievous 
men, with whom Zeus so lost patience that he removed them 
from the earth. Then came the brazen race, men so fond of 
fighting that they killed each other ; and after this the heroic 
race, of whom were the heroes who fought at Troy. These 



344 GKEECE 

also having passed away, the gods made the iron race at 
present existing, but destined to be removed by Zeus in its 
turn. 

It was upon legend of this sort that the Greeks built up 
their early history; by their legends they explained the 
origin of everything ; legends formed the chief part of their 
mental stock, impressed moral lessons and kept patriotism 
and the feeling of unity alive. How such beautiful fables, 
which were not only appreciated at that time but have been 
the delight of the world ever since, could have been produced 
by a primitive people is a mystery ; but there they are, and 
it must have been largely owing to their educational influence 
that Greece reached such a pitch of excellence in poetry, 
architecture, sculpture and philosophy. 

No doubt as thought advanced and the philosophers of 
whom we have heard so much came to the front, educated 
men ceased to believe in the historical value of the ancient 
stories, but the mass of the people long clave to them as 
truths. Naturally enough those legends lived longest which 
were connected with specific localities and brought reputation 
and wealth to the residents. For example, Delphi, a small 
town in Phocis, had the world-renowned oracle of Apollo; 
Eleusis, a town of Attica, gave its name to the Eleusinian 
mysteries ; Delos, a small island in the iEgean Sea had its 
special sanctity, and so on. In its inception, Greek paganism 
was the offspring of poetic fervour, but when once a legend 
got well started self-interest kept it alive. 

Faith in these legends was by no means confined to the 
Greeks. Xerxes, the Persian monarch, and Alexander, the 
Macedonian conqueror, visited Ilium, which claimed to be the 
site of Troy. The Romans were proud to speak of iEneas as 
their forefather, and when at war in Troas they spared Ilium 
because of the legend which connected them with the place. 

There was another story about Prometheus, one of the 
gods, who, having aroused the wrath of Zeus, was chained to 
a rock for thousands of years, and when Pompey, invading 



THE PLACE OF LEGEND IN GEEEK HISTOEY 345 

Asia was near the Caucasus with his army, he made a detour 
for the purpose of seeing the rock. 

Another fable told of a monster called the Minotaur 
which had lived in a labyrinth in Crete feeding on youths and 
maidens, until at last it was destroyed by Theseus. The ship 
in which Theseus was believed to have made his auspicious 
voyage was still to be seen in the time of Socrates, and 
was sent annually from Athens to Delos with an offering. 
During the absence of the vessel it was unlawful to put any 
one to death, and for this reason the execution of the great 
philosopher was postponed for thirty days. 

The Greeks got their alphabet from the Phoenicians. The 
art of writing was little practised amongst the early Greeks, 
and it is thought that the Iliad and Odyssey may not have 
been committed to writing until the seventh century, in which 
case they must have been carried in the memory of the 
popular reciters or " rhapsodists " for hundreds of years. As 
time went on and men began to see that the myths and 
legends could not be true, they talked of them as allegorical, 
but this belief leads to as much confusion as the other, and it 
is best to treat them as poetical fancies which must be kept 
separate from either history or philosophy. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE DAWN OF THE HISTORIC PERIOD. 

776. The first specific date in Grecian history is 776 B.C. The 
ruins which have been discovered prove that there were 
powerful kings in Greece long before that time, and that 
Homer's works had been in existence for several centuries ; 
nevertheless that date is taken as the starting point of 
the historic period. The reason is curious. Games were 
held at Olympia, a city in Elis, on the river Alpheus, in 
the west of Peloponnesus, and the name of the winner of the 
foot race was engraved on stone by the Elians who had the 
management of the festival. The first winner recorded was 
Corcebus, a local champion, and this was the date. At first 
these games were only of local interest, but later they became 
of national importance, and the Greeks began to calculate time 
by four year intervals or " Olympiads ". 

The Greeks, or more properly the Hellenes, were like 
ourselves a branch of the Indo-European family. Homer 
gives us our first glimpse of Grecian geography, and his map 
of Greece is very different from that which would have been 
drawn in 776 B.C. 

" The Dorian and Ionian names, which were afterwards so 
famous, are hardly known ; the name of Hellenes itself belongs 
only to a small district. The names of the whole people are 
Achaians, Argeians (Argos seeming to mean all Peloponnesus), 
and Danaoi, the last a name which goes quite out of use in 
historic times." 

"Attica, as a land, is not mentioned," but Athens is and 

Salamis. In Peloponnesus, "the ruling city is Mycenae,. 

(346) 



THE DAWN OF THE HISTOEIC PEEIOD 347 

whose king holds also a general superiority over all Hellas, 
while his immediate dominion takes in Corinth, Cleonse, Sicyon, 
and the whole south coast of the Corinthian Gulf — the Achaia 
of later times. The rest of the cities of the Argolic peninsula 
are grouped round Argos. Northern Greece again is divided 
into groups of cities which answer to nothing in later times." 

" We see the extent which Greek colonisation had already 
reached. It had as yet taken in only the southern islands of 
the Mgean. Crete was already Greek ; so were Rhodes, Cos 
and the neighbouring islands; but these last are distinctly 
marked as new settlements. The coast of Asia and the 
northern islands are still untouched. The Macedonian name 
is not found. The northern islands of the iEgean are 
mentioned only incidentally." 

According to tradition the Hellenic race had four tribal 
divisions, JEolian, Dorian, Achaian and Ionian. Of these, the 
^Eolians are supposed to have settled originally in northern 
Greece, in Thessaly and iEtolia; the Dorians in the middle; 
the Ionians in Attica ; the Achaians in Peloponnesus. 

Between the Homeric and historic periods, that is, between 
the eleventh and eighth centuries, considerable migrations must 
have taken place. The warlike tribes who dwelt in the high- 
lands of Epirus invaded central Greece, thrusting out the 
Dorians, who in their turn invaded Peloponnesus where the 
Achaians dwelt. Some of the Achaians took refuge in the 
islands, some found a new home by driving out the Ionians 
from the cities on the Gulf of Corinth, others remained subject 
to the Dorians. These movements extended over centuries, 
and greatly changed the geography of Greece ; Mycenae, which 
had been the principal city, lost its importance ; Argos, Sparta, 
Corinth and Sicyon became Dorian cities, and amongst these 
Sparta ultimately obtained the pre-eminence. 

During this period, that is before the eighth century, 
many of the iEgean islands became Greek, and "the whole 
iEgean coast of Asia became fringed with Greek cities, 
Dorian to the south, iEolian to the north, Ionian between the 



348 GEEECE 

two". "By the eighth century these settlements had made 
the Asiatic coast and the islands adjoining it, a part, and a 
most important part, not only of the Greek world, but we may 
almost say of Greece itself. The Ionian cities, above all, 
Smyrna, Ephesus, Miletus, and the islands of Chios and 
Samos, were among the greatest of Greek cities, more flourish- 
ing certainly than any in European Greece." 

From Greece herself and from her colonies, other colonies 
sprang, so that at last not only the ^Egean coast but the 
coasts of Thrace and Macedonia, the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean and of the Black Sea, were " dotted with Greek 
colonies," in some places, such as southern Italy and Sicily, 
very numerous, in other places lying farther apart. 

These colonies were of course founded by slow degrees, 
but they are mentioned here in order that we may realise how 
widely Greece influenced the world. As time went on, indeed, 
the Greeks had established themselves on so many islands and 
vantage points of the coast, in the vEgean, the Black Sea, the 
Mediterranean and the Adriatic, that the peninsula which we 
now call Greece was but a portion of the Hellenic world. The 
name " Hellas," therefore, implied no geographical continuity, 
" wherever Greeks were to be found, there was Hellas " ; and 
though there were numberless differences in character between 
the Greeks of various localities, all prided themselves on their 
Hellenic origin. 

Indeed, however jealously the Greek communities might 
guard their autonomy, they could not fail to recognise how 
much they had in common. They had language in common, for 
though they spoke in various dialects they had the same mother 
tongue, and Greek could always understand Greek. They 
had heroic poetry in common, and the wonderful epic poems, 
recited at games and festivals, kept their language pure 
and their sympathies alive. They had religion in common, 
for though every city and hamlet had its patron deity, the 
gods were of one family, and the sacrifices and ceremonies 
were very similar. This unity of religion led to much social 



THE DAWN OF THE HISTOEIC PEEIOD 349 

intercourse. Particular localities were consecrated where 
Greeks assembled at the annual festivals, and on such occasions 
their persons were protected and between those who were at 
war there was a truce of God. This sort of gathering was 
called an Amphictyony, or union of neighbours, and there were 
many such. The most important was the Delphic Amphic- 
tyony to which Greeks gathered from all quarters for the 
worship of Apollo. 

The temple where the Delphic Amphictyony assembled 
was ancient beyond historic knowledge, for even in the Iliad 
its wealth is spoken of. It was famous for the answers to 
questions which could be obtained there, supposed to be from 
the god, but really, of course, concocted by the priests. The 
answers were nevertheless frequently well worth having, for 
the priests were clever men who took pains to obtain the best 
information procurable upon all subjects, and as they generally 
knew beforehand when anything of importance was to be 
asked, they deliberated together as to what the answer should 
be, and when they were at a loss they took refuge in ambiguity 
and thus preserved their credit. 

Consulting an oracle in important matters became a Greek 
habit, and the approval or disapproval of the god had an 
encouraging or discouraging effect as the case might be, so that 
the predictions of the oracle tended to fulfil themselves. An 
expedition which Apollo blessed was entered into with alacrity ; 
one against which he had raised his voice was gone about in 
a half-hearted way. In early times the priests worked the 
oracle with judgment, and on patriotic lines, but later they 
were known to be open to bribery, and the oracle lost credit. 

In spite of what they had in common the Greeks suffered 
terribly from disunion. For this, however, they were not 
altogether without excuse. The Greek peninsula is exceed- 
ingly mountainous, and the mountains being rugged and 
precipitous, the country is divided into distinct sections, often 
with impassable barriers between. Thus from the nature of 
things the people lived in separate groups, and some who 



350 GEEECE 

were, as the crow flies, near neighbours, were so sundered by 
precipitous mountains that they rarely met. Each community 
occupied an isolated position, each safeguarded its own interest, 
and there was no strong central government to weld them into 
one. Nowadays when mechanical ingenuity has annihilated 
distance these obstacles may seem of little consequence, but in 
early times when men had to travel on foot or not at all, 
they formed considerations which account for much of the 
disunion and local selfishness with which Greek history 
abounds. 

Anything which could draw Greeks together and remind 
them of their common origin was to be encouraged, and the 
Amphictyonies and religious festivals were useful on that 
account. The spirit of unity was also fostered amongst 
the Greeks by their fondness for athletic sports. Even in 
the Homeric times they were devoted to these, and their 
passion for them did not abate as time went on. 

The most famous sports were the Olympian already men- 
tioned, which drew spectators from all parts of Greece and from 
the colonies. The month during which these games were held 
was regarded as a national holiday, there was truce whilst it 
lasted, and persons travelling to and from Olympia were sacred. 

The success of the Olympian games led to the establish- 
ing of others. The Pythian, celebrated near Delphi, were 
founded 585 B.C., and the Nemean and Isthmian still later. 
The Nemean and Isthmian did not become so famous as the 
others, but the Pythian contest held in every third Olympic 
year in such a central position, and near so important a 
temple, attracted a vast concourse. 

Hence, although each community lived its own life and 
guarded its own independence, a Greek had frequent chances 
of mingling with his fellows, and seeing men of every sort. 
Aided by these favourable circumstances, and stimulated 
by the glorious epic poetry of their forefathers, the mental 
character of the Grecian peoples unfolded in a way which is 
unique in the world's history. 



CHAPTER III. 

SPARTA. 

We have seen how in early times Dorian bands invaded 
Peloponnesus, subdued the inhabitants and seized their lands. 
At that time Mycenge was the chief city in Peloponnesus, but 
after the Dorian immigration Argos became chief. We do 
not know much about the kings of Argos, but one of them 
named Pheidon is reputed to have been a conqueror, and to 
have attempted to bring the whole of Peloponnesus under his 
sway. 

Another Dorian band settled in Sparta, a small city in 
Laconia. They were not numerous, their territory was 
narrow and circumscribed, and being hemmed in by the 
people whom they had dispossessed, they found it hard to 
live. Besides the difficulties from without, the Spartans 
suffered greatly from anarchy within their own State, for 
they had two kings, and the royal houses were continually 
quarrelling, either with each other or with the nobles who 
endeavoured to limit their prerogatives. 

Hence, during a time of special trouble, a citizen named 
Lycurgus was commissioned to undertake the reform of the 
constitution. He did so, proposing a series of institutions 
which were accepted by the people, and brought about im- 
portant changes both of a political and social character. 

Politically, Lycurgus limited the power of the kings, 
systematised the aristocratic councils, and gave the people a 
voice in the elections. 

Sparta's political constitution had, however, nothing to do 

with its greatness, but the social changes which are attributed 

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352 GEEECE 

to Lycurgus, proved of far-reaching consequence. As Sparta 
was small and surrounded by enemies, he conceived the idea 
of making it a purely military state. Every species of in- 
dustry was forbidden to the citizens — they neither trafficked 
nor tilled the ground ; their whole life was a preparation for 
war, and every Spartan became a soldier. 

At the age of seven, the Spartan boy was taken over by 
the state, and from that moment his life became a round of 
drill and discipline. He went barefoot and with a single 
garment; slept on rushes; was purposely underfed in order 
that he might be forced to supplement his meagre diet by 
hunting or theft, and endured every form of privation and 
punishment until he became utterly callous in body and soul. 
At twenty, he joined the public mess and lived on barley meal 
and black broth, at thirty he married, but even then might 
not live at home. Discipline went on just the same, he slept 
in barracks and dined at the public table. If he survived to 
the age of sixty, he might go home and spend the evening of 
his days in peace. It was well said that " a Spartan's life 
was made so unpleasant for him that he threw it away with- 
out regret in battle ". 

By this severe discipline the Spartans became splendid 
animals, and as they developed an excellent military organi- 
sation, and had a well-trained army at a time when the other 
Greeks still fought in untrained masses, they vanquished 
their enemies with comparative ease. 

First they conquered the inhabitants of Laconia amongst 
whom they dwelt. Of the conquered some who were called 
" Perioeci " (dwellers around), were permitted to retain their 
lands, paying a fixed tribute and supplying hoplites (heavily- 
armed soldiers) in time of war. The rest, called " Helots," 
were reduced to the condition of serfs, their lands being 
divided amongst the Spartans for whom they worked as 
slaves on plantations. The condition of the Periceci was 
tolerable, and they remained faithful to Sparta, but the 
Helots were only kept in subjection by systematic oppression 



SPAETA 353 

and gross cruelty. A Crypteia, or secret police existed, 
which murdered any Helot who seemed likely to prove 
dangerous. In time of war, the Helots accompanied the 
army as light-armed soldiers, and bitterly as they hated the 
Spartans they never revolted on the field of battle. 

When the Spartans had consolidated their power in Laconia, 743. 
they attacked the Messenians. Two desperate wars were to 
waged before this hardy race could be subdued, extending over 645 
about a century, with an interval between the struggles. When 
at last conquered, the Messenians were treated as Helots, and 
remained in this condition for three centuries, when Epamin- 
ondas of Thebes overthrew the power of Sparta, and set them 
free. 

Messenia having been absorbed, the Spartans attacked 
Arcadia, the central province of Peloponnesus, which lay north 
of Laconia, its chief town Tegea, being close to the Spartan 
border. Here they found foemen worthy of their steel. The 
hardy mountaineers fought tenaciously for their freedom, and 
the Spartans were at last thankful to make alliance with 560 
them on honourable terms. The Tegeans recognised Sparta 
as suzerain, and followed pier as leader, the Tegean soldiers 
forming the left wing of the Spartan army. 

Argos, formerly the leading state in Peloponnesus, held 
out against the rising power of Sparta for a time. After her 
great king Pheidon died in battle, she lost much of her power, 
and the cities which had recognised her pre-eminence fell away. 
At last Argos was so weakened by continual war that she 524. 
did not recover for a generation, and Sparta was left without 
a rival in Peloponnesus. 

Thus, after much hard fighting, the Spartans had proved 
the value of the Lycurgean method by overcoming their 
neighbours. We need not approve of the method any the 
more on that account. By its means endurance and resolution 
were encouraged at the expense of benevolence, natural affec- 
tion, and pity. All that beautified and elevated life was crushed 
out, and the Spartan became " at best a magnificent savage, at 

23 



354 GEEECE 

worst a systematic ruffian ". Far better would it have been 
had the Spartans worked for their bread like honest folk, 
and been willing to live on terms of equality with their 
neighbours, instead of lording it over men who were as much 
entitled to freedom as themselves. " Mankind was neither 
better nor happier for the iron rule of Sparta." 



CHAPTER IV. 

HOW THE CITIES WERE GOVERNED. 

Whilst Sparta was thus introducing her peculiar form of 
government and military system, the other cities, both within 
Peloponnesus and without, were developing on very different 
lines. In most of the cities the old patriarchal kingship had 
died out, and the power had been seized by a few leading 
families, who kept it among themselves, and transmitted it to 
their heirs. This kind of government is called oligarchy, or 
government by few, as opposed to autocracy which is govern- 
ment by one, and democracy which is government by many. 
Now, although, superficially looked at, government by a few 
seems better than government by one, experience points the 
other way. When a despot governs, even though he may be 
bad at heart, a sense of the weakness of his position keeps him 
within bounds. He knows that, after all, he governs by the will 
of the people, and that deposition or assassination may be his 
portion if he entirely alienates their sympathy. Further, as a 
despot is surrounded by nobles, envious of him and willing to 
supplant him, he generally finds it to his interest to depress 
the aristocracy and cultivate popularity with the people. 
With an oligarchy it is otherwise. In this case, despotism is 
not tempered by fear of assassination, for oligarchs are not 
one but many. Their only dread is revolution, and lest this 
should occur they keep the masses ignorant, defenceless and 
poor. There is another reason why despotism is preferable to 
oligarchy. If a king is extravagant, he is after all but one, 
and can be satisfied within the bounds of reason ; but if there 

are a number of aristocratic families, each endeavouring to 

(355) 



356 GEEECE 

enrich itself at the expense of the people, they are ' ' like a 
sweeping rain which leaveth no food ". 

Fortunately, if oligarchy is oppressive, it is also unstable. 
A monarchy has tradition behind it, a king is revered just 
because he is a king, and even when he is himself unworthy 
of reverence, his failures are often forgotten by reason of the 
deeds of some great ancestor. Moreover, a monarchy brings 
in the element of personal affection, for even a bad king 
will be popular with some classes of his subjects. 

In an oligarchy, on the other hand, the personal element 
does not appeal, the government stands or falls by its own 
conduct, and, generally speaking, its conduct is selfish in the 
extreme. Sooner or later, therefore, an oligarchy is over- 
thrown, perhaps by some deliverer from amongst the 
people, or by some one from amongst the oligarchs themselves, 
who, more enlightened or more ambitious than the rest, puts 
himself at the head of the masses, overthrows the government 
of his own order, and from gratitude, or from necessity, is 
endued by them with autocratic power. Whilst this hero 
lives, he probably uses his power for the benefit of the 
people, but when he passes away, his successors forget 
why these autocratic powers were given, and become in 
their turn oppressive, so that at last the people rising in their 
might, overthrow the despotism and establish a republic in 
which all citizens are supposed to be equal. Thus patriarchal 
kingship, oligarchy, autocracy and republic often follow in 
turn, but none of them is found perfect, for oppression is not 
so much the result of any form of government as of the selfish- 
ness which is natural to all men, whether rich or poor. Men 
who are well-disposed will make even the most illogical 
constitution work for the benefit of their fellows, whereas evil- 
disposed men will turn the most correct constitution into an 
engine of oppression. " Let favour be showed to the wicked, 
yet will he not learn righteousness ; in the land of uprightness 
will he deal wrongfully." 



HOW THE CITIES WEEE GOVEENED 357 

Sicyon. 

The city of Sicyon, lying on the Gulf of Corinth, and one of 
the most ancient cities in Greece, became subject to Dorians, 
who ruled as an oligarchy, and denied to the former inhabitants 
the rights of citizenship. 

At length a rich plebeian named Orthagoras headed a 676. 
revolution, overthrew the oligarchy and became sole ruler. 
He ruled well, and his descendants after him, for about a 
century. Cleisthenes was the last of the line, and though he 
was a tyrant, yet as he was a capital soldier, gave fine displays 
at the public festivals, and won prizes in the Pythian and 
Olympic games, he was popular, but after his death the 
Sicyonians adopted a republican form of government. 

Corinth. 

The city of Corinth lay near Sicyon, at the end of the 
long gulf, and upon the isthmus that bears its name. Its 
geographical position was most advantageous for commerce, 
for it was not only on the thoroughfare between Peloponnesus 
and northern Greece, but it practically commanded both seas, 
the isthmus being so narrow that ships could be carried across 
from the Corinthian Gulf to the Gulf of ^Egina. Corinth 
therefore became an important trading centre with fine 
harbours, both north and south. The Corinthians were 
famous shipbuilders, and invented the trireme, a vessel with 
three banks of oars, which became the model for the line of 
battle ships of the period. 

As in other cities so also in Corinth, the aristocracy got 
the upper hand, the state being governed by two hundred 
families, who called themselves the Bacchiadse, pretending to 
have descended from Bacchis, one of the early kings. The 
Bacchiadse were supreme for nearly a century, and ruled so 
oppressively that large numbers of the people emigrated and 
founded colonies where they could be free. Sometimes, also, 
young nobles, not finding scope for ambition at home, led 
colonising expeditions beyond the seas. Of the colonies thus 



358 GEEECE 

founded, Syracuse in Sicily, and Corcyra or Corfu off Epirus, 
may be mentioned. The Corinthian nobles were shrewd 
enough to see how much wealth might be gained by trading, 
and encouraged it in every way, so that the city prospered. 

655. At length the inevitable revolution broke out. It was 

headed by Cypselus, whose father was a plebeian, his mother 
a Bacchiad ; and the oligarchy being overthrown, he ruled as 
autocrat for thirty years, and was popular with the people. 

625. Cypselus was succeeded by his son Periander, under whom 

Corinth prospered exceedingly. To such an extent was com- 
merce developed that the harbour dues sufficed for revenue,, 
and relieved the citizens from further taxation. Nevertheless 
Periander ruled despotically, surrounding himself with foreign 
mercenaries, fortifying his palace, prohibiting public meetings, 
and getting rid of suspected citizens by exile or execution. 
His hand, however, was heavier upon the rich than upon the 
poor, and through his popularity with the common people he 
was able to keep his position for forty years. His nephew 
succeeded him, but was assassinated in the first year of his 
reign, and with his death the rule of the Cypselidse came to 
an end. 

Megara. 

The town of Megara, which lay clue east of Corinth, half 
way on the road to Athens, passed through similar experi- 
ences. Here also the early kingship was succeeded by 
oligarchy, and oligarchy ended in revolution. Theagenes led 
the popular party, and gained supreme authority for a time ; 
but a second revolution dethroned him — he was expelled, and 
a democracy established. 

The three cities mentioned, Sicyon, Corinth and Megara 
may be taken as types of the rest. 

Owing to the smallness of the communities the early, 
heroic type of kingship, valuable as long as the tribe needed 
a fighting man at its head, decayed when the people settled 
down to agriculture and trade. This form of kingship gave 
place to the rule of the leading families, and when their rule 



HOW THE CITIES WEEE GOVEENED 359 

proved unbearable, a hero arose who delivered the people and 
obtained supreme power. This looked like a return to the 
original kingship, but it was not so. There was no divine 
halo about a king of this sort, and he could only hold his 
own in the face of a sulky aristocracy by keeping on friendly 
terms with the people. Autocracy in the end, however, proved 
scarcely more stable than oligarchy. The first autocratic ruler 
was a worthy man, but his successors degenerated and were 
at last dethroned, their rule being followed either by retro- 
gression to a modified oligarchy or advance to a republic. 
Autocracy was therefore merely a stage in political develop- 
ment, but it served a useful purpose, for under the iron hand 
of the autocrat the distinction between the older families and 
the commons became less marked, and having to live together 
as subjects, rich and poor learned that all were alike interested 
in good government. 



CHAPTER V. 

COLONISATION. 

The period of Greek history which lay between the eighth 
and sixth centuries saw a remarkable amount of colonial 
expansion. Greece is by nature specially fitted to produce 
a seafaring people, seeing that its coast line is of abnormal 
length, and that many parts of the peninsula, though difficult 
of access by land, are easily reached by sea. Having there- 
fore learned the arts of shipbuilding and navigation from the 
Phoenicians, the Greeks speedily developed a race of hardy 
seamen, and as the eastern Mediterranean teemed with 
sparsely - peopled islands, and the Asiatic mainland was 
within easy distance, colonisation made rapid strides. 

During the period when the States were ruled by oli- 
garchies and autocracies, men, sighing for freedom, driven by 
poverty, or eager for increase of wealth, formed expeditions 
and swarmed off to distant lands. Settlements were generally 
made either at places with which trade had already been 
carried on, or at such as were evidently suited for trading ; and 
as the aim of the colonists was trade and not conquest, the 
natives did not object to their settlement amongst them. The 
disjointed character of the government at home made it difficult 
for the States to exercise control abroad, so that the colonists 
had perfect freedom, and the cities which they planted often 
became more powerful than the cities from which they 
sprang. 

Before the rise of Greece, the trade of the Mediterranean 

had been monopolised by the Phoenicians, who had built 

numerous cities and gathered an abnormal amount of wealth 

(360) 



COLONISATION 361 

upon the little strip of coast which lies between Lebanon and 
the sea. From these cities they had gone forth with un- 
paralleled enterprise, and established depots on all sides, in 
Africa, Sicily, Spain, Sardinia and perhaps even Britain. 
But the best time for Phoenician commerce was over. The 
Assyrian Empire was at its height, and Tiglath-Pileser, 
Sargon, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon had dealt the cities 
cruel blows, which made it hard for them to continue their 
mission as peaceful traders. The time was therefore propitious 
for the Greeks, and they gradually pressed out the Phoenician 
merchants from the iEgean Sea. This the Phoenicians had to 
bear, but they had founded many colonies in the west — at Cadiz, 
Utica, Carthage and other places. These colonists did not 
allow themselves to be thrust from the western Mediterranean 
without a struggle. Carthage became a great city, and the 
Carthaginians in alliance with the Etruscans of north-west 
Italy, also a seafaring race, prevented the Mediterranean 
from becoming a Grecian lake. 

The Greek colonies may be divided into four groups. The 
eastern group included the Dorian colonies on the south coast 
of Asia Minor, with the islands of Rhodes and Cos, mentioned 
in Homer ; the Ionic colonies in the central portion of the 
same coast, with many cities of which Miletus and Ephesus 
were specially important ; and the iEolic colonies of the north 
with the cities of Smyrna and Larissa, the islands of Lesbos, 
Tenedos and others. 

The western group included Cumge on the Bay of Naples 
and such cities in the South of Italy as Tarentum, Sybaris, 
Locri, Rhegium, and others so numerous that this part of 
Italy was called Magna Grsecia. In the same group the 
Sicilian colonies may be included, Naxos, Syracuse, Leontini, 
Catana, Gela, Zankle (now Messina) and the rest. It is to be 
remembered that Rome was only founded about B.C. 753 so 
that the Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily had time 
to develop before that city overshadowed them. Carthage, 
however, was powerful, and in alliance with Etruria, checked 



362 GREECE 

600, Greek colonial development in the west. Nevertheless Massilia 
or Marseilles was founded by Phoceans on the south coast of 
France, and guiding its affairs with discretion it became a 
prosperous city. The Greeks introduced the cultivation of 
the vine and the olive into France, and from Marseilles as a 
centre traded widely both with Gaul and Spain. 

The third group of colonies would be the African. In the 
seventh century Egypt was thrown open to the Greeks by 
Psamatik I. who owed his throne to the help which he had 
650. received from their mercenaries. The port of Naucratis in 
the Delta became a busy emporium, and the Greeks becoming 
familiarised with the African coast founded colonies at Cyrene 
and Barca. 

In the fourth group of colonies we may include the nume- 
rous cities and islands on the coasts of Epirus, Macedonia and 
Thrace ; thirty towns on the Chalcidian peninsula, and such 
cities as Cyzicus, Byzantium (now Constantinople), and others 
on the Black Sea, many of which, such as Odessa, Sinope, 
Trebizond and Sebastopol, remain important to this day. 

To understand this colonising energy we must remember 
that the Greek of 2,500 years ago had the same thirst for 
wealth that men of enterprise have to-day. History merely 
repeats itself. No Californian miner or Australian sheep 
farmer is keener to make a fortune than were the Greeks, 
and large fortunes were made by them out of gold, silver, 
copper, tin, iron, lead, corn, wool, timber, pitch, oil, horses, 
fish, and unfortunately also slaves. There was the same 
eagerness after wealth then that there is now, and just as 
little scruple as to the way in which it was acquired. 

From what we have said about the colonial expansion of 
Greece it will be seen that the world owes more to the little 
peninsula than is generally imagined. The Greeks were 
not merely artists and philosophers. Just when Assyria had 
reduced Phoenicia to dependence, and Tyre and Sidon were 
losing their grip upon commerce, Greece stepped forward and 
did the world great service. For with Greeks as with Anglo- 



COLONISATION 363 

Saxons, colonisation implied more than the mere making of 
money. Wherever the Greeks settled they brought with 
them their language, civilisation, literature and love of 
freedom. Both at home and abroad they taught the world 
what could be done by self-governing communities. True 
the principles of freedom were not always carried into 
practice, nevertheless with all their faults the governments 
of the Greek cities were much in advance of the military 
despotisms which oppressed the world. The time came when 
from disunion and the blighting influence of slavery Greece 
declined, and became an easy prey to her enemies, but this 
very disunion had served the cause of freedom and progress. 
For by reason of the multiplication of communities many had 
learned the art of government, the shores of Southern Europe 
had been fringed with free colonies, and a people of extra- 
ordinary capacity had come into being, of whose attainments 
and prowess the world is so proud that the failings of modern 
Greece are forgiven for the sake of her illustrious ancestry. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ATHENS. 

Athens is mentioned in Homer, but in the early period of 
Greek history it was not a place of much consequence. When 
authentic history first touches it we find it governed by kings 
whose authority was limited by the archon in civil, and the 

752. polemarch in military affairs. Even this limited kind of 
kingship was modified, the archon becoming the head of the 
state, the king elected every ten years and the polemarch 
coming after him. At first the archon was elected for life, 

683. then for ten years, and at last nine archons were appointed 
annually, who divided the duties of government among 
them. Of these the president was the Archon Eponymus, 
who gave his name to the year; the Archon Basileus who 
performed the functions of priest was the second; the Pole- 
march or commander-in-chief was the third ; the rest divided 
the administration of justice among them. There was an 
ancient assembly called the Areopagus, meeting on the hill of 
that name, of which the ex-archons became life members. 
It was the supreme court for judging cases of homicide, and 
it chose and controlled the archons. 

These institutions were purely oligarchic, being kept in 
the hands of the Eupatridae, who, like the patricians of Rome, 
held themselves aloof from the common people. Like the 
patricians also, the Eupatridse guarded the knowledge of legal 
mysteries, so that the common people only obtained justice by 
their favour. 

The discontent of the Athenians at last showed itself in 

632. open revolt, the first revolution being headed by Cylon, a 

(364) 



ATHENS 365 

wealthy noble with a large circle of friends. Aiming at 
supreme power he rose with his partisans and seized the 
Acropolis, but the people did not rally round him as he ex- 
pected, so he had to fly. His followers sought sanctuary at 
the altars of the gods, and Megacles, the archon who commanded 
the troops, and belonged to a noble clan called the Alcmseonidse, 
promised to spare their lives if they would surrender ; but 
when, relying on his promise, they laid down their arms, they 
were slain. This breach of faith was resented by the people 
as likely to bring down the wrath of the gods upon the city, 
and the clan was pursued with hatred for years. At last, on . 
the advice of Solon they stood their trial, and being found 
guilty of sacrilege were banished from Athens. They were 
afterwards permitted to return, but the story of the sacrilege 
was not forgotten, and was used by their enemies against 
them for many generations. 

In the hope of allaying the discontent arising from malad- 624. 
ministration of justice, Draco was appointed to codify the 
laws. The code thus drawn up was of so severe a character 
that the word ' ' Draconian " passed into a proverb, but it 
must be remembered that Draco did not invent new laws, but 
merely recorded existing ones, that severity was in harmony 
with the spirit of the age, and that penalties in ancient codes 
were made severe with a view of compelling the wrongdoer to 
make restitution. 

Draco's code did nothing to lighten the misery of the 
Athenian people, and their hatred of the oligarchy became 
intense. A war broke out with Megara in which the oligarchy 
showed great incompetence and this did not help to increase 
their popularity. In the course of this war Solon came to the 600. 
front, leading a successful expedition and giving advice which 
proved to be for the benefit of Athens, so that, when at 
length the war was ended by the arbitration of Sparta, he 
had become the most popular man in the state. He improved 
his reputation by the part he took in connection with the 
"first sacred war " which was undertaken by the Delphic 



366 GEEECE 

Amphictyons against Cirrha and Crissa, towns which were 
accused of molesting pilgrims on their way to the shrine of 
Apollo at Delphi. The temple of Delphi was a source of 
great wealth to the locality and the Amphictyons who 
managed it. Many of the pilgrims landed at the seaport 
of Cirrha and passed through the town of Crissa on their way 
to the temple, and the inhabitants of these places, coveting a 
share in the plunder, began to charge them toll. This was 
resented, and a war ensued which lasted for ten years, and 
ended in the destruction of both Cirrha and Crissa. 
595. When matters came to a head in Athens and the oligarchs 

perceived that reform must be faced if the city was to be 
saved from ruin, Solon was chosen by general consent to frame 
a constitution. It was no easy task, for both politically and 
economically Athens was in a bad way. The money had 
fallen into the hands of the aristocracy who lent it at usurious 
interest, and a succession of wars and bad harvests had ruined 
the farmers who, mortgaged beyond hope of redemption, had 
sunk into the position of serfs. Those who had no farms to 
mortgage were in even worse condition, many of them having 
sold themselves and their children as slaves. For so desperate 
a disease only desperate remedies could avail, and Solon began 
by cancelling a proportion of the outstanding debts, making 
the lending of money on the security of the person illegal, 
removing feudal burdens, and remitting arrears of taxes. 

Having thus mitigated the prevailing distress, Solon set 
himself to form a new constitution. He divided the citizens 
into four classes according to their wealth in land. The 
highest class, the Pentacosiomedimni, were men having an in- 
come of 500 measures of corn ; the second, the Hippeis or 
knights, were men able to keep a horse, with incomes from 500 
to 300 medimni ; the third, the Zeugitse, owners of a yoke of 
oxen, had from 300 to 150 medimni ; the fourth, the Thetes, 
comprised all the rest. Qualification for office depended on class, 
but so also did taxation. The highest offices of state were 
reserved for the Pentacosiomedimni but they paid the highest 



ATHENS 367 

taxes ; the Hippeis and Zeugitee were eligible for minor offices, 
and were taxed less heavily ; the Thetes could not hold office 
and were not taxed at all. Solon's constitution was therefore 
a modified timocracy ; it gave power in proportion to wealth, 
but the only wealth reckoned was wealth in land. 

There were three assemblies in Solon's constitution. Of 
these the first was the " Ecclesia," the ancient assembly of the 
people, which had never died out but retained little authority. 
Solon revived it, making it part of the machinery of state. 
Every citizen could vote in it, and it had the right of electing 
archons, passing laws, and calling magistrates to account at 
the termination of their office. 

The second assembly was the " Boule " or Senate having 
400 members, elected annually ; and forming a committee 
without whose approval no business could come before the 
Ecclesia. 

The third assembly was the "Areopagus," which was 
shorn of many of its political powers but made guardian of 
public morals, with a right of veto against dangerous legisla- 
tion, and the right to punish citizens whose manner of life 
amounted to a public scandal. Though therefore the Areopagus 
had no very clearly-defined political duties it had much moral 
power, and was held in reverence by the Athenians. 

Solon next turned his attention to legal reform, and drew 
up a code of laws to take the place of the Draconian. Amongst 
the propertied classes in Athens, the family and the clan had 
authority over the persons and property of their members. 
Solon relaxed this authority so far as life and liberty were 
concerned, and gave childless citizens the right to dispose of 
their property at death, A remarkable feature in his legisla- 
tion was the disfranchising of citizens who did not take sides 
in times of civil trouble. This provision was probably in- 
tended to prevent political apathy, and thus make it less easy 
for tyranny to arise. 

When these matters had been settled, and the laws inscribed 
in a public place, Solon declared an amnesty for political 



368 GEEECB 

offences, and then, in order that his constitution might be 
permitted to show its merits without further interference, he 
left Athens for ten years. It would have been better for the 
new constitution if he had remained to look after it, and make 
such amendments as experience might suggest. The enact- 
ments were valuable but they had weak points, and when 
friction began, discontent began with it. No section of the 
community was so entirely satisfied as to make a resolute 
stand for the constitution ; the aristocracy wanted the oli- 
garchy back again, the democracy had got a taste of power 
and wanted more, while the commercial men who were not 
landowners, finding they had no voice in public affairs, were 
the most discontented of all. 

Accordingly when Solon returned from his travels he had 
the mortification of finding his constitution unpopular, the old 
dissensions still rife, and a relative of his own, Peisistratus, 
voicing the general dissatisfaction and grasping at the su- 
preme power. In spite of Solon's protestations Peisistratus 
was successful, and Athens passed under the government of 

560. an autocrat, who, though twice expelled, twice returned, and 
at length, learning wisdom by experience, managed to keep 
his position until his death. Although Peisistratus was auto- 
cratic and unscrupulous, he was a useful ruler passing various 
enactments in the interests of good order. He made laws, 
built roads, aqueducts and temples, patronised both literature 
and art, and established a public library — the first in Athens. 
He was wise enough not to abrogate Solon's constitution, 
contenting himself with guiding it in his own interests, and 
nominating his friends for important offices. 

527. Peisistratus was succeeded by Hippias, his son, who at first 

walked in his father's footsteps. Unfortunately, a younger 
brother, Hipparchus, who was living an immoral life, got into 
trouble, and a conspiracy was formed to kill them both. 
Hipparchus was assassinated and Hippias escaped, but the 
untoward incident soured his disposition. He surrounded 
himself with foreign mercenaries and became suspicious and 



ATHENS 369 

cruel. His oppression soon made him disliked and gave 
his enemies their opportunity. The most powerful of these 
were the Alcmseonidae, who had returned at the time of Solon's 
amnesty and were again popular. They were wealthy and 
had atoned for their sacrilege by rebuilding the temple at 
Delphi, which had been destroyed by fire. Accordingly the 
priests now aided them, and Cleomenes, king of Sparta, was 
induced to espouse their cause and attack Hippias. Although 
successful in the first encounter Hippias was at length de- 511. 
feated and retired to Asia, taking refuge in the dominions of 
the Persian king. 



24 



CHAPTER VII. 

CLEISTHENES THE KEFORMEE. 

511. After the expulsion of Hippias the strife between the dif- 
ferent parties began again. The aristocracy demanded the 
restoration of the oligarchy, but the Alcmseonidse, headed by 
Cleisthenes, an extremely able man, took the popular side and 
offered the people a greater share in the government. How 
far Cleisthenes may in the first instance have been inspired 
by genuine love of reform, and how far by policy, may be 
questioned ; but having once taken to reform, he threw him- 
self into the task with zeal, and never halted until he had 
revolutionised the whole Athenian polity. 

Before the reforms began there was a time of trouble. 
The aristocrats, led by Isagoras, showed fight, but their 

509. weakness was speedily seen, and Isagoras fled from Athens. 

He went to Sparta and sought the help of Cleomenes, who, 

thinking that he had an easy task before him, set out against 

Athens with a few hundred men. Cleisthenes, hearing that 

the king of Sparta was approaching, and never dreaming that 

he would come with so small a force, retired from the city, 

which opened its gates, and Isagoras and Cleomenes entered 

and garrisoned the Acropolis. Isagoras then declared the 

constitution annulled, replaced it by an oligarchy chosen by 

himself, and expelled 700 leading democratic families. 

Meanwhile the Athenians saw how small was the force to 

which they had yielded, and taking courage drove Isagoras 

into the Acropolis and blockaded him and his supporters. 

They then sent for Cleisthenes, who speedily returned 

with many of the exiled democrats. The Acropolis being 

(370) 



CLEISTHENES THE EEFOEMEE 371 

crowded with men and not provisioned for a siege had 
to surrender, and the Athenians wisely allowed the Spartans 
to depart safely. They managed to carry Isagoras with them, 
but such of his Athenian supporters as were left behind were 
put to death. 

Cleomenes was deeply chagrined by his failure, and on his 
return to Sparta he summoned his Peloponnesian allies to 
make common cause with him against Athens. That nothing 
might be wanting for the discomfiture of the city he also 
allied himself with the Boeotians and Euboeans, who under- 
took to invade Attica from the north, as soon as he crossed 
the southern frontier. 

The Athenians were so alarmed that they actually sent an 
embassy to Artaphernes, the Persian satrap of Asia Minor, to 
entreat help ; and the ambassadors agreed to pay homage to 
Darius if help were granted, but on their return the Athenians, 
who had only contemplated alliance on equal terms, repudiated 
the treaty. 

Athens was left, therefore, with no other ally but the little 
town of Platsea to which the Athenians had rendered service, 
and which now, and more notably afterwards, showed true 
gratitude. 

All seemed to be going well for Sparta, and Cleomenes was 
approaching with an overwhelming force when, for the first 
time, his confederates learned that it was his intention to over- 
throw the Athenian democracy and reinstate Isagoras as 
tyrant. Now as some of these states had themselves suffered 
many things from tyrants, and had with much trouble got rid 
of them and established democracies, the incongruity of their 
position struck them so forcibly that after a stormy det)ate 
they refused to assist Cleomenes and went home, whereupon 
the Athenians, profoundly astonished but greatly relieved at 
the break-up of their enemies' armament, marched against 
the Boeotians and Euboeans, and in one day defeated them 
both. 

The city was now in an enviable position, and Cleisthenes, 



372 GEEECE 

deservedly in high repute, made a good use of his opportunity 
by revising and improving the constitution. 

The essential idea in the mind of Cleisthenes was the unity 
of Athens. From ancient times the people had been divided 
into tribes according to birth — each tribe following its own 
chieftain. Cleisthenes abolished the four ancient tribal divi- 
sions, and substituted ten new divisions in which he included 
all the inhabitants of Attica who were not slaves. These 
larger divisions were subdivided into demes or wards, and 
the demes making up a tribal division were so arranged as not 
to be adjacent. By this arrangement Cleisthenes avoided that 
excess of local sentiment which leads to faction, and made it 
harder for the nobles to raise parties amongst the people. 
Moreover by this method one tribe obtained no advantage 
over the rest, for though each ward had its local interests, the 
tribe was a mere aggregate. Hence although ancient friend- 
ships and common religious ceremonies were kept up as before, 
for purposes of government the people became blended into 
one. A healthy spirit was kept alive by allowing the demes 
to have ward meetings, presided over by a Demarchus, 
where rates were levied and matters of common interest dis- 
cussed. Having thus given every citizen an opportunity of 
taking an intelligent interest in the government, Cleisthenes 
proceeded to make the assemblies real forces in the state. 

He increased the size of the Senate or Boule to 500 mem- 
bers — the senators being elected by the ten tribes : fifty from 
each. It therefore became a representative body with sole 
power to originate measures, which had however to be ap- 
proved by the Ecclesia before they became law. As the 
Senate was a permanent deliberative body, Cleisthenes 
lightened the burden for the individual members by dividing 
the year into ten periods, and allotting one period to the 
senators of each tribe. The period was known as a Prytany, 
and whilst it lasted, the fifty senators whose turn it had 
become to serve, were boarded and lodged in the Prytaneium 
at the public expense. By this arrangement Athens always 






CLEISTHENBS THE REFORMER 373 

had fifty senators in session, and yet no one was unduly 
pressed. 

The assembly of the people, the Ecclesia, was also reformed, 
and its powers increased. It had to be summoned at least 
once during a Prytany, but it afterwards became so important 
that it met four times in a Prytany, and had extra sessions as 
well. Its sittings were often extremely interesting. Every 
citizen had a right to speak, and this freedom of speech was 
greatly prized, and had much to do with Athenian development. 
The meetings were conducted on modern lines, speakers being 
cheered and hissed in the usual way. As the Ecclesia recog- 
nised no distinction but such as was due to popularity or 
approved merit, the humblest citizen had a chance of showing 
what manner of man he was, and if able might hope to 
influence public affairs ; so that the lives of the Athenians were 
brightened and their wits sharpened to a remarkable degree. 
Moreover, as the magistrates were elected annually, and had 
at the end of the year to give an account of their stewardship 
to the Ecclesia, it had great power over the executive and 
was a terror to the evil-doer. 

The Ecclesia heard appeals and tried cases of treason, and 
when acting in this capacity was called the " Helisea," and for 
convenience' sake was divided into juries called " Dicasteries ". 
The great size of the Dicasteries, and the fact that the mem- 
bers were chosen by lot to try any particular case, helped to 
make bribery or intimidation extremely difficult. 

The institution of the Archons was preserved, as well as 
the regulation of Solon that only men of wealth were eligible 
for office. But as the Ecclesia both elected and passed j udgment 
on officials, the restriction was of less consequence. It was 
long before the Athenians opened state offices to poor men, and 
even after they had done so poor men were rarely elected. 

The Areopagus or Court of Censorship was also maintained, 
the archons passing into it at the end of their term of office. 

A new military office was created which was destined to 
become important. Each of the ten tribes chose a strategus or 



374 GEEECE 

general, and the ten strategi formed a standing council of 
war, which the polemarch consulted and which eventually 
greatly limited his power. 

Perceiving how, in spite of every precaution, unscrupulous 
men might frustrate his efforts and enslave the state, Cleisthenes 
fell upon an extraordinary plan for checking ambition. He 
arranged that if at any time a citizen should be growing too 
powerful, the Senate and Ecclesia might declare the state 
in jeopardy, after which the citizens were to meet and record 
by individual vote the name of the person who seemed to each 
a source of danger to the state. The names were written on 
potsherds, and if any citizen was unfortunate enough to receive 
6,000 votes he was " ostracised," that is sent into exile, for 
ten years. This period was afterwards reduced to five, but 
when the law had lasted a century and been put into force 
about ten times, it was turned into ridicule by being applied 
to insignificant persons, and became obsolete. 

By reforms such as these, Cleisthenes turned Athens into 
a genuine republic, broadening the basis of the state, and 
bringing home to the minds of the citizens the thought that 
each had a share in the government. The effect was remark- 
able. These reforms came into operation at a time when the 
Athenians were gaining success in foreign affairs, and their 
spirits were high. The assemblies threw themselves into their 
duties with zest, there was unity amongst the people, rich 
and poor were alike content, and the citizens began to have 
such confidence in each other that they ceased to be afraid even 
of Sparta. 

For the first time in history, the sovereignty of the people 
was finding practical expression, and the magical words " lib- 
erty, equality, fraternity," were inspiring a nation. For a 
century Athens retained the inspiration, and, during that 
century, her people, working together, heart and hand, did 
magnificent service for humanity, saving Europe from being 
overrun by Asiatic hordes, and giving to the world " its first 
great intellectual baptism ". 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CYRUS THE GREAT. 

We have already seen how numbers of Greeks crossed the sea 
and settled on the coast of Asia Minor, the western shore 
of which especially was fringed with the numerous cities 
they had planted. These cities lay adjacent to the kingdom of 
Lydia, but as they were seaports, and their inhabitants con- 
fined themselves to commerce, the Lydian monarchs did not 
meddle with them, but gladly profited by the tolls they levied 
upon the traffic passing between the coast ports and the 
interior. 

The Asiatic cities, therefore, flourished, and some became 
richer than those from which they had sprung. In the matter 
of government they had passed through varied experiences, and 
some had oligarchies, some autocracies, and some republics. 
They lived at peace with each other, for the most part, and had 
common religious festivals, but no particular city led the rest, 
nor were they accustomed to act in unison. So long as Lydia 
let them alone, this mattered little ; but when the Lydian kings 
tried to subdue them, the want of cohesion proved fatal. 

When Croesus, the monarch concerning whom so many 568. 
strange tales are extant, became king of Lydia, these cities fell 
into his hands, and were treated by him with much considera- 
tion. He was an ardent admirer of Greek civilisation, and a 
worshipper of Apollo ; and as he only asked to be acknowledged 
as suzerain, and did not meddle with their local government, 
they did very well under his rule. Unfortunately, however, 
Crcesus himself was subdued, and the Asiatic Greeks fell into 

the hands of a harder taskmaster. 

(375) 



376 GEEECE 

In order to understand the circumstances of the time it is 
needful to remember that important events had been transpiring 
in the east. For centuries Assyria had been the dominant power, 
and Babylon and Egypt had acknowledged her supremacy. At 
last this great but cruel power, having had her strength sapped 
by persistent revolts in her provinces and a terrible Scythian 
invasion, was crushed by the united forces of Media and 
606. Babylonia, Nineveh her ancient capital being destroyed. 

The attack upon Assyria had been chiefly led by Cyaxares 
king of the Medes, and Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, and 
these two moiiarchs divided the Assyrian Empire between 
them. 

The northern portion of the empire fell to Cyaxares, who 
proceeded to push his conquests farther westward. He carried 
all before him until he met the Lydians, who offered so stout 
a resistance that he made a treaty by which the river Halys 
became the boundary between their kingdom and his empire. 

Half a century later a change took place in the Median 
Empire itself. Cyrus, king of Elam, but a Persian by descent, 
549. conquered Astyages king of the Manda, was accepted by the 
Manda and Medes as ruler, and, easily persuading the hardy 
mountaineering tribes of Persia, who were of his own blood, 
to follow his banner, united these warlike races into one 
great empire. Viewed from outside the change was not 
serious, for the surrounding nations knew little difference 
between the Medes and the Persians. To them therefore it 
was a change of dynasty rather than of empire, but its import- 
ance lay in this, that, by the union of Medes, Persians and 
Elamites under Cyrus, one of the most able and energetic of 
kings had at his command an almost inexhaustible supply of 
the best soldiers in Asia. 

Cyrus, accordingly, pushed his conquests far and wide. His 
rapid progress alarmed the neighbouring states, and Croesus, 
fearing that Lydia would be absorbed, induced Amasis, king 
of Egypt, and Nabonidos, king of Babylon, to enter into 
alliance with him against the common enemy. Croesus had 




CYRUS THE GREAT 377 

obtained an apparently favourable if somewhat ambiguous 
opinion from the oracle at Delphi, and went forward against 
Cyrus with confidence, crossing the river Halys and invading 
Cappadocia, which had acknowledged Persian suzerainty. 

Cyrus acted so promptly that Croesus got no help from 
his allies, and a battle was fought in Cappadocia in which 546. 
both armies suffered severely. When Cyrus retired, Croesus, 
concluding that he was retreating, and unable to pursue, 
determined to postpone further operations until the next year, 
dismissed his allies, and fell back upon Sardis his capital. 
When Cyrus heard what Croesus had done, he saw his oppor- 
tunity, and marching rapidly on Sardis, fell upon the Lydians 
and defeated them, capturing their city, citadel and king 
within fourteen days. 

This sudden fall of a great monarchy created a profound 
impression amongst the surrounding peoples. All Lydia 
submitted to Cyrus excepting the cities of the Asiatic Greeks. 
Of these Miletus paid homage, but the rest held out for 
favourable terms, whilst Cyrus demanded unconditional sur- 
render. 

The cities, alarmed yet obstinate, sent to Sparta to seek 
help, but Sparta instead of sending an army, sent ambassadors 
to Cyrus to warn him not to meddle with any Greek city. 
This did more harm than good, for Cyrus, flushed with victory, 
and knowing nothing of Spartan prowess, dismissed them 
with threats. He himself could not longer delay in the 
west, but he left his general to carry on the war and subdue 
the cities. Some of them resisted bravely, and had there been 
united effort, the Persians would not have found the task 
easy, but disunion spoiled everything, and they fell a prey 
one by one to the enemy, though some of the inhabitants 
preferred emigration to Persian rule. When once they 
had conquered the cities, the Persians did not treat them 
badly, but left them local government, and full freedom to 
trade. 

The conquest of these cities was of immense importance to 



378 GEEECE 

Persia, for it gave her access to the Mediterranean, and made 
her powerful on sea as well as on land. 

During this period Cyrus was carrying his arms over 
Central Asia, and penetrating as far as India and Tartary, 
and when the tribes of these regions had been subdued he 

538. turned against Babylon. At first he failed to break down the 
defences of King Nabonidos but ultimately defeated him in 
a pitched battle, after which Babylon opened its gates with- 
out a struggle, and the Babylonian Empire came to an end. 

It had been the policy of the kings of Assyria and Baby- 
lonia to transplant the peoples whom they subdued. It was 
a dangerous policy, for the exiles, congregating in the heart of 
the empire, were sure to work for its downfall. The ease with 
which Cyrus overcame Babylon was largely owing to the 
presence of these exiles, and when he gained the city he 
reversed the former policy, and allowed them to return home. 
Amongst those who took advantage of his liberality were the 
Jews, many of whom returned to Jerusalem under the leader- 
ship of Zerubbabel. 

529. Cambyses succeeded Cyrus and added to the importance of 

the empire by conquering Phoenicia, Egypt and Cyprus. He 
died suddenly, and was succeeded by a usurper called Smerdis, 
who had only reigned for a few months when a plot was 
formed against him, and he was slain, after which Darius 
ascended the throne of Persia. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DARIUS THE GREAT. 

Darius had no hereditary right to the throne, and many re- 521. 
volts had to be extinguished before he was generally accepted 
as king, but he proved a most able ruler, and vanquished all 
his enemies. 

When he was thoroughly established, Darius set himself to 
the task of organising the empire. Hitherto it had been an 
agglomeration of vassal states, each acknowledging its own 
prince, and paying tribute to the suzerain with more or less 
regularity. Darius divided the empire into twenty-three pro- 
vinces called satrapies, over each of which a satrap, or governor, 
was placed. A valuation having been made, the gross amount 
which each satrapy ought to pay was determined, and the 
satrap was made responsible for its collection, whereupon he 
subdivided his province into districts and allotted to each its 
share. So long as the native governments worked smoothly, 
they were not interfered with ; all that was demanded was 
that they should pay their taxes, furnish contingents, and give 
free passage to the troops of the empire. Most of the cities 
of the Asiatic Greeks were now under the rule of autocrats, 
but these were not disturbed if they were faithful to Persia. 

Though Darius had so vast an empire he was not satisfied, 

but looked towards Greece with longing eyes. Relations 

between Persia and her Asiatic Greek subjects had never 

been quite cordial, and Darius knew that the spirit of 

rebellion was encouraged by their kinsmen in Europe, so that 

the conquest of Greece seemed the one thing needful to 

complete the consolidation of the empire. 

(379) 



380 GEEECE 

As the Persians were unaccustomed to naval warfare, 
Darius preferred to invade Greece by the overland route, 
and to accomplish this with safety, proposed to conquer the 
Thracians, Scythians, Macedonians and Thessalians in turn, 
until at last Greece herself was reached. It was well for 
Greece that he set about the invasion in this circuitous way. 
Athens, whose valour was to make resistance to the Persians 
possible, was at this time under the rule of the Peisistratidae, 
and her people had none of the public spirit which they 
developed later when the tyrants had been expelled, and the 
reforms of Cleisthenes had made them citizens indeed. Had 
Darius attacked Greece by sea at this time, the country might 
have fallen an easy prey, but twenty years later, when the 
attack was made, Athens was ready. 
512. Darius' expedition against Europe would have been im- 

possible but for the aid which he received from the Asiatic 
Greeks. They supplied a fleet of 500 ships, and built one bridge 
of boats over the Bosphorus and another over the Danube, and 
when with the aid of these bridges he entered Scythia with 
his army, they remained behind to guard the bridge. 

The Scythians, avoiding battle, retreated before Darius, 
destroying forage, cutting off stragglers and drawing him 
farther from his base, until his position became so serious that 
he had to retreat, abandoning his sick and wounded. 

The Scythian horsemen brought intelligence to the Greeks 
at the bridge that Darius was retreating, and assured them 
that if they would but destroy it, neither the Persian king nor 
his soldiers would ever trouble them again. Miltiades, the 
ruler of the Thracian Chersonese, an Athenian and afterwards 
the hero of Marathon, advocated this course, but he was over- 
ruled by Histiseus, the governor of Miletus, and Darius and 
his army were saved. 

Darius was thankful to get back to Sardis safely with the 
bulk of his army ; leaving Megabazus, his general, with 80,000 
men to conquer as much of Thrace as had not already sub- 
mitted. In this Megabazus was successful, not only subduing 



DAEIUS THE GEEAT 381 

Thrace, but receiving homage from Amyntas, king of Mace- 
donia, so that Darius by great good fortune not only escaped 
destruction, but frightened the Scythians, conquered the 
Thracians, and obtained the submission of the Macedonians. 
The Persian Empire in Europe now extended from the 
Bosphorus to Thessaly, and the complete conquest of Greece 
seemed but a trifle after what had been accomplished. 

Miltiades dared not remain longer in the Chersonese, and 
retired to Athens, whilst Histiseus, whose counsel had saved 
Darius, was rewarded. Histiseus, however, was spoiled by 
prosperity, and aiming at independence, was summoned to 
Susa, where he remained — Aristagoras, his son-in-law, being 
made autocrat of Miletus in his stead. 

Darius had now returned to his court at Susa, and was 
represented in Sardis by Artaphernes, his satrap, who had the 
Asiatic Greeks under his jurisdiction. These were suffering a 
good deal from local tyranny, and recent events had made 
them somewhat ungovernable, for, knowing that Darius could 
not have undertaken his Scythian expedition without their 
help, and that he would have been destroyed but for their 
forbearance, they overestimated their importance. It wanted, 
therefore, but a spark to cause a conflagration, and this was 
supplied by Aristagoras of Miletus, who proved to be as 
ambitious as Histiaeus whom he had superseded. Aristagoras saw 
an opportunity of increasing his power by attacking the island 
of Naxos, in which there had been a revolution resulting in the 
fall of the oligarchy. The nobles came to him and begged 501. 
for help, and he, hoping to gain control over the island, but 
realising that he was not strong enough to accomplish it 
by himself, went to Artaphernes and proposed to bring it 
under Persian suzerainty. Artaphernes agreed and lent a 
fleet of 200 ships, but not having much confidence in Arista- 
goras made Megabates, a Persian, joint commander of the 
expedition. 

Aristagoras and Megabates quarrelled before sailing, and 
the latter, greatly chagrined, secretly revealed their plans to 



382 GEEECE 

the Naxians, so that the expedition proved abortive. Arista- 
goras was in despair, for he had not only pledged his word 
with Darius and Artaphernes that the enterprise would succeed, 
but had spent his resources upon its equipment. At this crisis 
he received a message from Histiseus, advising him to revolt 
against Persia. The message chimed in so thoroughly with his 
inclination at the time that he did not hesitate, and in order to 
carry the people with him he assembled them, professed to be 
a reformed character, and laid down his despotic power. The 
Milesians, well pleased, re-elected him as constitutional magis- 
trate, and declared for war against Persia, their example being 
followed by the other Asiatic Greeks and by Cyprus. 

Aristagoras, realising the importance of the occasion, 
crossed to Europe and appealed to the European Greeks for 
help. Sparta refused, but Athens, herself free, and sympathetic 
with the efforts of others after freedom, gave him twenty ships, 
to which Eretria added five. 

The small squadron arrived at Ephesus, and having been 
joined there by detachments from the revolted cities, the com- 
bined force made a sudden attack upon Sardis where Artaphernes 
499. resided. Taken by surprise the satrap was driven into the 
citadel, and the town was sacked and burnt. This was an 
error of strategy, for the citizens were Lydians, and might have 
been favourable towards the revolution. As it was, they were 
exasperated at the burning of their capital and turned upon 
the Greeks, who found they had undertaken a task beyond 
their strength. Accordingly they were driven back to their 
ships with loss, and the Athenians and Eretrians, disgusted at 
the mismanagement of the affair, sailed home. But though the 
expedition thus broke up, the burning of the Lydian capital 
was a deed neither to be forgiven nor forgotten by Persia, and 
Darius vowed vengeance not only on the revolted cities, but on 
the Athenians and Eretrians who had abetted so daring a 
deed. 

All Phoenicia being now subject to Persia, Darius was able 
to gather a formidable fleet with which to attack the rebels. 



DAEIUS THE GEE AT 383 

He began with Cyprus, which was easily crushed, after which 
he attacked the cities. Some resistance was made, but Aris- 
tagoras lost heart and fled. He gained little by his flight, for 497. 
landing in Thrace he and his followers were cut to pieces by 
the inhabitants. 

Artaphernes now attacked Miletus by land and sea. The 
Greeks, finding themselves powerless against the formidable 
land army, gathered 350 ships for a great naval effort. 
Battle was joined at Lade but some of the Greek ships fled, 
and only those of Miletus and Chios were left to contend with 
the enemy, so that they were soon overpowered. Miletus held 
out for a time after this disaster, but was at last captured and 495. 
sacked. The city was burned and its inhabitants sold as 
slaves, and though rebuilt, the new city never attained the 
importance of the old. 

After the fall of Miletus the remaining cities quickly 
surrendered, and the revolt of the Asiatic Greeks was at an 
end. 



CHAPTER X. 

MARATHON. 

Having now amply revenged himself upon the Asiatic Greeks, 
Darius had time to think of Europe, and especially of Athens 
and Eretria. 
492. Accordingly he sent a military and naval expedition under 

Mardonius ; the army crossing the Hellespont and marching by 
way of Thrace, whilst the fleet coasted in its support. All 
went well until the promontory of Mount Athos was reached, 
where the fleet encountered such a hurricane that. 300 ships 
and 20,000 men were lost. The army on shore also met with 
unexpected resistance from the Thracians, and both by land 
and sea the expedition was so weakened that Mardonius 
deemed it wiser to return. 

The untoward result of his second expedition into Europe 
did not cause Darius to swerve from his purpose, and the 
succeeding year and a half was spent in preparing such a fleet 
and army as might surmount every obstacle. 

The army thus about to be launched against Attica was 

certainly formidable. Thirty-six nations sent contingents, 

and there were not fewer than 100,000 fighting men. Before 

the invasion Darius sent envoys to the various Grecian states, 

demanding submission. The envoys were variously received. 

Some made the customary offering of earth and water in token 

of homage, some dismissed the envoys with polite scorn, 

the Athenians threw one herald into a pit, and the Spartans 

another into a well. Whatever the rest might do, it was 

evident that Darius would meet with determined opposition 

from these two leading states. 

(384) 



MAEATHON 385 

Amongst those who paid homage were the iEginetans, who 
being then at war with Athens declined to follow her example. 
The Athenians appealed to Sparta, and Cleomenes compelled 
iEgina to stand firm against the common enemy, and to make 
peace with Athens ; so that when the crisis came Athens was 
able to fight against Persia with undivided energy. 

It was now twenty years since Hippias had been expelled 
from Athens, and the reforms of Cleisthenes were bearing 
fruit. A generation had arisen which appreciated the advan- 
tages of freedom, and there had been an outburst of vigour 
and intellectual energy to which there are few parallels in the 
world's history. 

The prosperity of the city had increased, and the im- 
portance of giving every citizen a personal interest in the 
government was seen in many ways. Not only did the 
commons appreciate the new form of government, but the 
aristocrats, as true leaders of the people, were finding a 
worthier sphere for legitimate ambition than they had ever 
found under the oligarchy. 

Amongst the leaders Themistocles, Aristeides and Miltiades 
were specially prominent. The first was an able man, far- 
seeing, daring and resourceful. He was little scrupulous as to 
methods, and like most men of his time was not above bribery, 
yet no statesman did Greece better service. 

Aristeides was also able — not so far-sighted as Them- 
istocles, but cool, clear headed and just. His austerity of 
character made him unpopular, but in the long run his worth 
was acknowledged by all. 

Miltiades has already been mentioned. He was an aris- 
tocrat and had succeeded his uncle as ruler over the Greek 
cities in the Thracian Chersonese. In this capacity he had 
followed Darius to the Danube on his first invasion of Europe, 
and had his advice been followed Darius would never have 
invaded Europe again. Afterwards Miltiades took part in the 
Ionic revolt, but on its collapse went to Athens, where he was 
chosen strategus ; and so, by virtue of the elasticity of demo- 

25 



386 GBEECE 

cratic institutions, one who had been an independent sovereign 
was now a faithful officer of the republic. 
490. At length the fleet of Darius commanded by Datis and 

Artaphernes sailed into the Mgeano.. With the fleet also 
came Hippias, the tyrant expelled from Athens twenty years 
before, now an old man, yet not without the hope of winning 
back his position by the aid of Persia. 

Warned by the fate of the former expedition, Datis and 
Artaphernes avoided the route by way of Mount Athos, and 
sailed straight across the Mge&n. They touched at Naxos, 
and the Naxians fled to the mountains, leaving their city to 
its fate. Having destroyed Naxos, they sailed to Euboea and 
besieged Eretria. The Eretrians not daring to meet the 
Persians in the field, shut the gates of their city and pre- 
pared to stand a siege. Unfortunately there were traitors 
within. After a few days the gates were opened, the city 
captured, and the citizens carried on board the fleet in chains, 
ready to be transported to Asia when the rest of the work 
had been accomplished. So far the expedition had been 
successful, and the road to Athens seemed clear. 

Hippias, knowing Attica well, guided the Persian fleet 
to the Bay of Marathon where there was easy landing, and 
from which it was only a march of twenty miles to Athens. It 
is probable that Datis and Artaphernes contemplated land- 
ing a portion of the forces at Marathon for the purpose 
of drawing out the Athenian army and keeping it in play, 
whilst the fleet sailed round to Piraeus and attacked the 
undefended city. After events proved that there were traitors 
in Athens, as there had been in Eretria, ready to give notice 
when the favourable moment for attack had come. 

The fall of Eretria alarmed the Athenians, but did not 
affect their determination to fight to the bitter end. Philip- 
pides, the swiftest runner in Athens, was sent to Sparta to 
notify the fall of Eretria, and entreat instant help. He ran 
150 miles across country in forty-eight hours and delivered his 
message. The Spartans promised aid, but it was close on full 



MAEATHON 387 

moon and superstition did not permit them to set out until five 
days had passed, by which time Athens did not need their help. 

The gallant city had therefore to face the enemy alone. 
It was a terrible task, for she could only put 9,000 hoplites 
into the field, and the Persians numbered 100,000 men. There 
were searchings of heart amongst the generals, and half the 
strategi counselled delay. Miltiades urged immediate attack. 
He was specially well fitted to advise, for he understood 
Orientals, knowing how liable they were to be seized with panic, 
and how a sudden and determined attack might succeed against 
them when more deliberate action would fail. He guessed 
also that traitors would be at work in Athens, and that delay 
would give them their opportunity. Accordingly he threw all the 
earnestness which he could command into an appeal for instant 
action, and the polemarch gave the casting vote in his favour. 

Battle having been decided on, the strategi acquiesced 
loyally, and instead of insisting on their right of command 
by turns, gave Miltiades undivided power. They did well, 
for not only did his military experience and high rank give 
him a claim, but he, even more than the others, had his all 
at stake. By his counsel at the Danube he had made friend- 
ship with Darius for ever impossible, and a Persian victory, 
if it meant misfortune for the rest, meant ruin for him. 

The Persians had encamped on the plain fronting the Bay 
of Marathon, and their ships were drawn up on shore, whilst 
the handful of Athenians lay on the mountain side guarding 
the road to Athens, and overlooking the camp of the enemy. 

Whilst waiting thus the Athenians were delighted by the 
arrival of the whole available force of the little town of Platsea 
which they had formerly befriended. It was the second time 
that the Plataeans had thus proved their gratitude, and the 
desperate circumstances of the case make their conduct one of 
the brightest events of Greek history. The Platseans numbered 
1,000 men, so that the united Greek forces now amounted to 
10,000 hoplites with their attendants, a handful compared 
with the huge force encamped beneath them on the plain. 



388 GEEECE 

As the Persians showed no sign of beginning the assault, 
Miltiades formed his men into line. The formation was 
peculiar, the men being massed chiefly on the wings whilst 
the middle was only a few files deep. After the generals had 
harangued their men, Miltiades gave the signal, and the Greeks, 
shouting their battle cry, charged down the hill. They had 
nearly a mile to run and must have been breathless when 
they reached the Persians, but the effect of their desperate 
courage was irresistible. The Persians had not expected a 
battle, and gazing with amazement at the madmen running, 
as they thought, upon their doom, had barely time to form 
when the Athenians were upon them. The battle was scarcely 
for a moment doubtful. The fact was that up to that time 
neither Persians nor Athenians had sufficiently estimated 
the true merits of their respective forces. The Persians 
had fought the Asiatic Greeks, largely half-castes, and lightly 
armed like themselves, and they imagined that they would 
find the European Greeks men of the same type. They had 
yet to learn what a charge of heavily-armed and determined 
Europeans would mean to their physically feeble and half- 
naked Oriental troops. This lesson they learned at Marathon, 
and neither Greek nor Persian ever forgot it. For one 
moment the Persian centre, where the select troops fought, 
withstood the Greeks, but next moment the Greek wings, 
having scattered the enemy opposed to them like sheep, 
wheeled round and attacked the Persians in flank, and the 
battle was over. Such of the Persians as could lied to the 
ships, many were driven into the marshes, 6,000 were slain. 
The total Athenian loss was 200, amongst whom, unfortu- 
nately, fell the polemarch Callimachus, whose casting vote 
had given authority for the battle. 

All danger was not yet past, for either before or just 
after the battle a shield was seen to flash from the top of an 
adjacent mountain. The Greeks, knowing that there were 
traitors in Athens, guessed that this was a heliographic signal 
to the fleet that the city was undefended. The suspicion 



MAEATHON 389 

became certainty when they saw the fleet making for Cape 
Sunium, by rounding which it would soon reach Athens. 
Accordingly, without delay, tired though the men were, they 
hurried back to Athens, and when the Persians approaching 
saw the men of Marathon waiting them on the shore, they 
thought better of it and set sail for Asia. Unfortunately the 
Eretrians on board the fleet could not be rescued, and were 
sent as prisoners to Susa, to prove to Darius that the expedition 
had been successful in part. To his credit be it said that 
Darius treated them kindly, and gave them lands in Elam 
upon which they settled. 

The effect of Marathon upon the Greeks was electrical. 
They had trembled at the very name of Persia, but they now 
knew that even in small numbers they were a match for a 
Persian host, and the inspiration thus enkindled infused itself 
into every subsequent encounter, and gave them that confidence 
which in battle so often means victory. 

A Spartan contingent of 2,000 men arrived too late for the 
battle. Apart from the delay the number was so out of pro- 
portion to Sparta's resources and the gravity of the crisis that it 
seemed as if she would not have been unwilling to see Athens 
humbled by Persia. However, when the Spartans saw that 
they had lost a share in so much glory, they put the best face 
they could upon the matter, and, having congratulated the 
victors, returned home. 

Miltiades did not live long to enjoy the glory he had won, 489. 
and died under melancholy circumstances. With the consent 
of the Athenians he organised a piratical expedition against 
the island of Paros, but it was unsuccessful and he returned 
discomfited and badly wounded. He was, somewhat ungrate- 
fully, prosecuted before the Heliaea for deceiving the citizens, 
and sentenced to pay the cost of the expedition, but before the 
penalty could be enforced his wound mortified and he died. 
It was a sad ending for a great man, but we need only 
remember his brilliant service at Marathon and forget the 
rest. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THERMOPYLAE. 

In spite of the disasters attending his third European invasion 
Darius was undismayed, and, determined to put forth the full 
strength of his empire and crush Greece by sheer weight, he 
at once began preparations for a new campaign. Meanwhile 

486. a revolt broke out in Egypt, and whilst he was marching 
against that country he died. 

Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of 
Scripture. Xerxes was not warlike, and would have gladly let 
Greece alone. But this did not suit the views of the military 
party at Susa, who hoped to win profit and renown by the war. 
The Egyptian revolt delayed matters ; but, when it had been 
overcome, preparations went on in earnest for the fourth 
Persian invasion of Europe. 

The death of Darius, the time spent in quelling the rebellion 
and in these preparations, gave Athens a breathing space of 
ten years, during which the citizens were well employed. 

490. Up to the battle of Marathon the Athenians had no fleet 
worth speaking about — their power resting entirely upon their 
hoplites. Themistocles perceived that the position of Athens 
gave her a favourable opportunity for becoming a maritime 
power, and foresaw that when the next struggle with Persia 
came the possession of a fleet would be of primary conse- 
quence. It helped his schemes that the Athenians were at 
war with the iEginetans, who had a substantial fleet ; and in 
urging that Athens should increase the number of her ships 
Themistocles could plead the necessities of the moment. But 

his political vision looked beyond ^Egina and even beyond 

(390) 






THEEMOPYL^] 391 

Persia, for he saw that, owing to the configuration of Greece, 
the state with the best harbours and the best fleet must 
become the leading state in Greece. Sparta was powerful on 
land, but if Athens were supreme on the sea, even Sparta 
must yield the palm. There happened to be a surplus in the 
Athenian treasury at this time, and when it was proposed to 
divide it amongst the citizens, Themistocles moved that the 
money should be spent on ships, and carried his point. He 
had to meet a powerful opposition, led by Aristeides, who 
obstructed with so much vigour that he was ostracised. 

Themistocles was now free to carry out his plans, and 
keels were laid for enough vessels to make the Athenian 
navy 200 strong. A good harbour was also constructed at 
Piraeus, which speedily became a busy and thriving town, 
and thus it happened that, whereas at Marathon Athens was 
practically without ships, when Xerxes came she had as many 
as all the other Grecian states put together. 

The year before Xerxes' invasion all Asia was astir, and 481. 
contingents were arriving at Sardis from the remotest parts 
of the empire. Fighting being now certain, the Greeks met 
in conference at Corinth to decide upon a common plan of 
action for the states. Only Argos and Thebes held aloof, 
the former from hatred of Sparta, the latter from hatred of 
Athens. 

The congress began by making peace once more between 
Athens and iEgina. Appeals were then sent to the Greek 
colonies for help, but they produced nothing. Gelo, the Syra- 
cusan ruler, offered to send an army on condition that he 
should receive the chief command, but this could not have 
been arranged, nor in any case could he have carried out his 
promises, for Xerxes had made alliance with Carthage, and 
Sicily was invaded by the Carthaginians simultaneously with 
the invasion of Greece by the Persians. 

Greece had therefore to fight her own battle, unaided by 
her colonies, and having indeed many at home surreptitiously 
on the side of the enemy. Even the Delphic Apollo seems to 



392 GEEECE 

have been tampered with, and when consulted it sent a 
lugubrious response. 
480. At last the crisis arrived, the vast army was gathered, 

and the march began. Nothing was left undone by Xerxes to 
ensure success. A double bridge of boats had been built over 
the Hellespont, a canal cut through the peninsula of Athos, 
and provisions stored at every halting place on the route. 
The bridge was crossed under the eye of Xerxes himself, and 
a review was afterwards held at Dorsicus, where the men 
were counted. What the exact numbers were can only be 
guessed, but probably there were not less than 800,000 fighting 
men. Many of these were, however, so wretchedly armed 
and trained as to be a mere encumbrance, and it is safe to 
say that if Xerxes had weeded his army, and left half at home, 
he would have added to the efficiency of his expedition. 

In addition to the army there was a fine fleet raised in 
Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Cyprus and Egypt, numbering 1,200 
line of battle ships, with many transports, and on each man- 
of-war thirty marines in addition to the regular seamen. 

Thanks to the foresight of Themistocles, it was possible 
to encounter Xerxes by sea as well as by land. The command 
of the army was given to Leonidas, king of Sparta and it 
would have been fitting that the command at sea should have 
been given to Themistocles, seeing that so large a proportion 
of the fleet was Athenian; but owing to the jealousy of 
iEgina and Corinth, Themistocles waived his claim, and the 
command was given to Eurybiades, a Spartan, an obstinate 
and incapable man, who was only kept right by Themistocles' 
strenuous efforts. 

In spite of the generosity of Athens it was most difficult 
to obtain whole-hearted combination amongst the Greeks, and 
many would rather have submitted than fought, for it was 
realised that Athens and Sparta were the states chiefly 
threatened, and there was much jealousy of Athens and 
hatred of Sparta. 

The first part of the Persian march was unopposed. Thrace, 



THEKMOPYLiE 393 

which had resisted the expedition under Mardonius, was either 
bribed or overawed, and the chief difficulty was that of finding- 
food for the vast concourse. The various cities on the line of 
march were each ordered to supply one full meal for the 
whole army, and a witty citizen recommended his fellows to 
go to the temples and thank the gods that Xerxes ate but one 
meal a day. 

Even when Thrace had been traversed and the river 
Strymon crossed, Xerxes met with no opposition, for Alex- 
ander, the prince of Macedonia, was tributary, and, albeit 
somewhat half-heartedly, accompanied Xerxes on his march. 

As it seemed impossible for the Greeks to meet this mighty 
host in open field, it was determined to guard the passes, and 
the Vale of Tempe lying north of Thessaly was occupied, but 
when it was perceived that this position could be easily 
turned, it was abandoned. 

The retreat from Tempe, though perhaps unavoidable, had 
this unfortunate result, that it left the largest of the Greek 
states open to the invader, for the Thessalians had now no 
resource but to send earth and water to Xerxes. It was 
determined to make the supreme effort at Thermopylae, and 
thither accordingly Leonidas marched with his army, whilst 
the fleet drew up alongside to prevent the pass being turned 
by way of the sea. 

Even now, with Xerxes at hand and ruin imminent, the 
Spartans refused to send more than a handful of men, 
making the pitiful excuse that they were celebrating a 
festival. Leonidas, therefore, had to march with only 300 
Spartans to which were added 3,000 men from the Peloponne- 
sian allies. On the way towards Thermopylae he gathered 
men at the various cities, and when he reached the pass and 
was joined by the Phocian and Locrian troops he had 10,000 
under his command. On his arrival he learned that there was 
a difficult path over the mountains by which the pass might 
be turned, and he entrusted the defence of this path to the 
Phocians at their own request. 



394 GEEECE 

Whilst the army of Xerxes was marching towards Ther- 
mopylae, his fleet was moving southward in its support, and 
the Greeks had stationed their vessels near Artemisium to 
dispute the straits there and prevent the Persian fleet from 
passing Thermopylae and taking the army of Leonidas in the 
rear. When the Persian fleet reached Cape Sepias it anchored, 
and would have offered battle next day, but during the night 
a storm arose which lasted for three days and did enormous 
damage. The Greeks, who had meanwhile been snugly 
sheltered in harbour, sailed out after the storm, hoping to 
profit by the confusion, but found the Persian fleet still so 
large that they retreated in some alarm. The Peloponnesian 
captains would in fact have returned home under the plea of 
obtaining reinforcements, but the Euboeans, who dreaded being- 
left without the protection of the fleet, bribed them to remain. 

Meanwhile the Persians had recovered from the storm, and 
seeing the Greek fleet thus concentrated, ordered 200 ships to 
sail round Eubcea and block the southern end of the strait, 
whilst the rest of the squadron gave battle at Artemisium. 
An indecisive action was fought, but in the night there was 
another storm, and again the Persians lost heavily, the de- 
tached squadron being almost destroyed. After this there 
were two days of desultory fighting, and then news came 
from Thermopylae which changed the whole situation. 

Xerxes had traversed Thessaly and crossed the Othrys 
mountain range without opposition, but when he reached 
Thermopylae he found it occupied. He might have turned 
the pass, for there were inland roads by which his army could 
have gone, but they were circuitous and had he taken them 
he would have lost touch with his fleet. He determined, 
therefore, to force it, and concentrated his army with that 
intention, the disaster to the fleet delaying him for some 
days. 

When Leonidas left Sparta with his handful of men, the 
Spartans had promised that large reinforcements should follow, 
and for these he looked eagerly. Had even a moderate rein- 



THEBM0PYL.2E 395 

forcement reached him, Xerxes' campaign might have ended 
at Thermopylae, but Sparta betrayed her great general, and 
he and his Spartan comrades realised that they had been sent 
to their death. 

At last Xerxes ordered the attack. It was begun by Medes 
and Elamites, who advanced confidently in a deep column to take 
the madmen alive and bring them to the king. Leonidas was 
defending the pass at its narrowest point, in front of the Phocian 
wall, where only a few could fight at a time ; so that by divid- 
ing his men into companies who fought and rested in turn he 
kept them continually fresh. 

The Orientals advanced bravely, but only to be slaughtered. 
As at Marathon, so here, their light weapons, wicker shields 
and half -naked bodies, could accomplish nothing against the 
well-armoured Greeks with their long spears. When the Medes 
and Elamites were withdrawn and the Persian immortals 
dashed forward, the result was the same ; if they fought more 
bravely it was but to sustain greater loss. For two days the 
fighting thus went on, until the Persian officers had to lash 
their men forward with whips, and the pass was heaped with 
their dead. 

But on the second night a traitor told Xerxes of the path 
over the mountains by which the pass could be turned. It 
need not be matter of surprise that a traitor was found to reveal 
the secret, the wonder rather was that Xerxes did not learn 
it before, for he had been at Thermopylae a week, and 
there must have been many at hand who knew the path and 
concealed their knowledge. Xerxes at once sent picked troops 
by the new route, but these might have found their task im- 
possible had not the Phocians, who were guarding the path, 
basely fled at the first onslaught. 

In the morning Leonidas heard what had happened and 
knew that his position was no longer tenable. A conference 
was held and the majority were for retreating. Leonidas, 
however, stood firm, and a devoted band remained with 
him. Xerxes would have deferred the attack, but Leonidas, 



396 GEEECE 

knowing that his time was short, took the initiative and 
advancing from his barrier threw himself upon the enemy. 
The slaughter of Persians was terrific, but Leonidas fell early 
in the day, and the rest, utterly wearied, retired to a hillock, 
where they were slain by missiles, the enemy not daring to 
come within reach of their spears. At Thermopylae 4,000 
Greeks and 20,000 Persians were slain. So far as numbers 
were concerned the loss was heavier for the Greeks than for 
their enemies, for they could less easily afford it. But the 
moral effect of the battle upon the Persians was tremendous. 
Never had they dreamed that men could fight as the Greeks 
had fought, and to them now every Greek was a Leonidas. 
King and soldiers alike had lost the confidence with which they 
began the campaign, and though it might have been wiser had 
Leonidas and his brave troops drawn back when the pass was 
turned, and waited for another opportunity, it could not be said 
that they had died in vain. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SALAMIS. 

When the admirals of the fleet heard about Thermopylae, 480. 
knowing that it was now useless to remain at Artemisium they 
sailed down the strait, rounded Cape Sunium and anchored 
opposite the island of Salamis. 

So far the Spartans had shown no real appreciation of the 
importance of the crisis. Leonidas had been sacrificed to their 
dulness of perception and jealousy of Athens ; and now that 
the Persian army had passed Thermopylae, and Athens was at 
its feet, the population of Peloponnesus hurried out, not to 
defend Attica, but to build a wall to separate their peninsula 
from the rest of Greece. In this they showed little wisdom, 
firstly, because the wall, even if it defended Peloponnesus 
proper, left Megara, Attica and ^Egina at the mercy of the 
invader ; and secondly, because whilst Xerxes commanded the 
sea he could land forces on the other side of any wall they 
might build. The Spartans thought only of themselves, but 
not even so did they think wisely. 

Fortunately the Athenians kept their heads clear, and when 
they saw that their interests were neglected by the other states 
they abandoned Athens, removed their women and children to 
safe quarters in Salamis, Mgma, and Troezen, and put all their 
combatants on board the fleet — now their only hope. 

When, therefore, the Persians advanced, they found Athens 
practically undefended, and having stormed the Acropolis where 
a few desperate -men had congregated, they set the city on 
fire. 

The Persian fleet followed the Greeks round Cape Sunium 

(397) 



398 GEEECE 

and was reviewed hy Xerxes in the Bay of Phalerum ; whilst 
the Greek fleet, numbering 378 vessels, lay a few miles off in 
the narrow strait between Attica and Salamis. The hope of 
the Athenians lay in fighting, but the Peloponnesian captains 
loudly demanded permission to return home, on the plea of 
co-operating with their land forces. Eurybiades, the Spartan 
admiral, hesitated, and Themistocles, knowing that if the fleet 
left Salamis it would never come together again, argued 
vehemently for battle. When he had been insulted and 
threatened with blows in the conference, and saw that the 
Peloponnesians were bent on retreating, he declared that if 
they left Salamis he would withdraw the Athenian contingent, 
which amounted to half the fleet, carry the inhabitants of 
Athens to Italy, and leave Greece to its fate. This threat 
alarmed Eurybiades, and he decided to fight ; but Themistocles, 
knowing that he would change his mind if there was any delay, 
determined to precipitate conflict. Accordingly he sent a con- 
fidential Asiatic slave to the Persians to see Xerxes and tell 
him that the Greeks were quarrelling amongst themselves, and 
that if he did not take care their fleet would escape him in 
the night. Xerxes took the bait and at once gave orders to 
shut the Greeks in, commanding that not one opening should 
be left for their escape on pain of death. That night there 
was another stormy conference amongst the captains, who, un- 
aware of what was happening, even yet thought of retreat. 
During the conference a stranger arrived to speak with The- 
mistocles. It was the exiled Aristeides, the sentence against 
whom had been revoked on the proposition of Themistocles, 
and who returned at this critical moment to share the fortunes 
of his fellow citizens. He brought the news that they were 
surrounded and that he had only got through the Persian line 
with the utmost difficulty. Others, arriving later, confirmed 
his stoiy, and the captains, seeing now no help for it, went 
to their ships to prepare for battle. 

At daybreak the Persians were ready as if for a spectacular 
display. Xerxes sat on a throne on the slope of Mount 



SALAMIS 399 

iEgialeus to watch the battle, with scribes beside him ready 
to note instances of special valour. With all their losses the 
Persians had still 1,000 vessels, and their overwhelming num- 
bers made them sure of victory. When morning broke the 
Persian fleet advanced somewhat ponderously with wind and 
tide against them. The Greeks were by no means anxious 
for battle, and many would even then have retreated had 
retreat been possible, but as all were hesitating, Ameinias 
of Pallene, an Athenian captain, suddenly dashed out and 
rammed a vessel of the enemy. Inspired by his courage 
others followed, and the battle became general. It was no 
child's play for the Greeks, for the Persian ships were largely 
manned by Phoenicians, who were splendid sailors and brave 
men. But the Greeks would take no denial, and at length 
the engagement was seen to be turning in their favour. The 
Persian ships began to give way and drift, and as, owing to 
the narrowness of the strait, their reserves were jammed, 
their numbers only added to the confusion. At last night 
fell, and the Persians withdrew beaten and utterly demoralised. 
Next morning the Greeks were eager to renew the fraj^ 
but Xerxes' heart was sick — he had seen enough of war. He 
had still a huge army and a formidable fleet, but his spirit was 
broken. He had set out for Greece a god — his pride was in the 
dust. Moreover, he had lost confidence in the fleet. Himself 
no fighter, and unable to understand the difficulties his men 
had to surmount, he bitterly reproached his admirals, and so 
threatened the Phoenicians, his best sailors, that, angry and 
alarmed, they deserted. Xerxes now began to fear for his 
own safety. If he were no longer supreme at sea, what was 
to prevent the Greeks from destroying the bridge of boats 
over the Hellespont and cutting off his retreat ? Better for 
him to escape whilst he could. Themistocles, guessing what 
would be in his mind, sent him another adroit message, stating 
that it was only with difficulty that he was restraining the 
Greeks from sending ships to break down the bridge. The 
facts were really the other way, for Themistocles had advised 



400 GEEECE 

that this should be done, but the rest thought it too risky. 
Moreover, curiously enough, unknown to both Xerxes and 
Themistocles, the bridge had already been destroyed by a 
storm. But the message served its purpose, and Xerxes, 
grateful to Themistocles, determined to return at once. His 
officers encouraged his decision. The presence of a great 
personage in an army, unless he is himself a warrior capable 
of leading and inspiring, is a disadvantage; and Mardonius 
and the other generals knew that if Xerxes would but depart 
and take with him the useless portion of the army, they would 
have a better chance of conquering Greece with the remainder. 
Accordingly they cajoled him into believing that in destroying 
Athens he had done the greater part of the work, and might 
retire with dignity, leaving the rest to be accomplished by his 
subordinates. Xerxes, therefore, allowed Mardonius to choose 
300,000 men, and with the remainder set out on his return 
journey. It took them forty-five days to reach the Hellespont, 
and they were days of suffering, for no arrangements had 
been made for food, and the men had to live on roots and 
anything else they could get. When they approached the 
Hellespont they found the bridge broken, but by this time 
their fleet had arrived from Greece and they were carried 
across slowly but in safety. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PLATiEA. 

Mardonius wintered in Thessaly where his force, still thrice 
as large as anything likely to be brought against him by the 
Greeks, had time to recuperate after the distressing events of 
the last campaign. In the spring he tried hard to win the 479. 
Athenians from the confederation, sending Alexander of Mace- 
don as his envoy. Mardonius offered tempting terms to the 
Athenians : they would be uninjured, might have what territory 
they liked, their city would be rebuilt at Persian expense, 
and so on. On the other hand, what had they to expect if they 
refused ? Sparta would probably play them false, and the city 
which they had reoccupied would be again destroyed. Yet, 
notwithstanding temptation on the one hand and danger on 
the other, the Athenians replied with defiance. 

This being settled they sought help from Sparta to hold the 
passes, and received fair promises, but when Mardonius ad- 
vanced the Peloponnesians reverted to their selfish policy and 
refused to cross their fortified wall. Once more, therefore, the 
Athenians had to evacuate their city, and Mardonius occupied 
it without opposition. The feeling of the Athenians towards 
Sparta was now most bitter, and envoys were sent to remon- 
strate. The Spartans kept the envoys waiting for ten days, and 
would have sent them empty away, but that a Tegean asked 
them of what use the wall across the isthmus would be if the 
Athenians accepted the terms offered them by Mardonius, and 
put their fleet at his disposal, so that Persian soldiers could be 
landed inside their fortifications. The Spartans had overlooked 

this most obvious danger, but when they saw it, they acted 
26 (401) 



402 GEEECE 

quickly enough, for that night 5,000 Spartans set out to join 
the Athenians with the promise of more to follow. 

Having once changed their tactics, the Spartans threw 
their best energies into the war, and a force was speedily 
gathered from all sides. Mardonius, perceiving the new aspect 
of affairs, retired from Athens and fortified a camp near 
Platsea, where he had the friendly city of Thebes to fall back 
upon for supplies. On the hill slopes opposite, the Greeks 
drew together the largest army they had ever put in the 
field, 40,000 hoplites, and an equal number of light armed 
troops — the whole under the generalship of Pausanias, a brave 
man but by no means brilliant. 

For some days the armies thus faced each other, the Greeks 
suffering from attacks by the Persian cavalry, yet not daring 
to descend to the plain to give battle, while Mardonius feared 
to attack them on the hilly ground. At last the Greeks fell 
short of water and determined to retire by night to a better 
camping place. The movement was wretchedly executed, 
and in the morning, the Athenians and Spartans, who formed 
the wings, were still retreating, whilst the centre had gone 
back a mile too far. Mardonius saw the confusion and think- 
ing the moment opportune gave orders for an immediate 
attack, and dashed forward without even forming line of battle. 
The right wing was first overtaken, and Pausanias, sending 
word to the Athenians that he was engaged, turned and faced 
the enemy. The centre had retreated too far to be of use, and 
the fighting fell upon the wings. 

The Spartans had to face chosen troops, and for a 
minute or two, whilst Pausanias was engaged at the sacrifices, 
the Persian arrows did mischief, but at last word came that the 
omens were favourable, and the Spartans charged with a will. 
The Persians fought well, but their courage availed little; 
they began to give way, Mardonius was struck down, and 
soon they were in full flight. 

Meanwhile the Athenians, on the left wing, had a harder 
task, for they were fighting the Boeotians, Greeks like them- 






PLAT^EA 403 

selves, and " when Greek met Greek, then came the tug of war ". 
But when the Boeotians saw that the main body was beaten, 
they retired in good order to Thebes, so that the Athenians 
were free to advance. By this time the Greek centre had 
arrived, and a general attack was made on the fortified 
camp where the Persians were standing at bay. After a 
fierce struggle it was carried, and the rest was massacre. 

Artabazus was at the head of 40,000 men who formed the 
Persian reserve. When he reached the field the army was 
in full flight, and seeing that the day was lost, he turned 
without striking a blow, hastened northward, and by march- 
ing day and night kept ahead of the news of the disaster 
and reached Asia in safety. A few scattered bands probably 
managed to join him and thus escape — the remainder of the 
army was annihilated. The spoil which the Greeks found in 
the camp was enormous, never had there been such a division 
of booty. 

About the time of the battle of Platsea — it is said on the 479. 
very day — an important battle was fought in Asia. The 
Greek fleet had crossed to watch the Persians, and encountered 
a squadron at Mycale, near Miletus. Remembering Salamis, 
the Persians feared to engage the Greeks on sea, and hauled 
up their ships in order that they might have the support of a 
Persian army which lay upon the shore. The Greeks, deter- 
mined not to be baulked, landed and attacked them. After a 
sharp struggle the Asiatic Greeks who were serving with 
the Persians deserted to their fellow-countrymen and the rest 
fled, leaving their camp and 300 ships to the enemy. The 
result of the battle of Mycale was far reaching. Miletus 
declared for independence at once, the other Asiatic Greeks 
quickly followed her example; and Xerxes, who had been 
lingering at Sardis in hope of good news from Mardonius, 
returned to Susa with the miserable remnants of his army, 
having not only lost his hold upon Europe but part of his 
most important Asiatic province as well. 

In the hour of triumph the European Greeks saw the 



404 GEEECE 

necessity for making provision with regard to the future ; and r 
on the motion of Aristeides, a permanent defensive league was 
formed, to meet at Plateea — a city which, on account of its 
services to Greece, was declared free and inviolable. 

The condition of the Asiatic Greeks was also discussed, and 
as the difficulty of defending them seemed great, the Spartans 
proposed that they should be invited to migrate to Europe, 
and when Athens refused to agree, declined any further 
responsibility for their defence. 

After the victory at Mycale the Greeks sailed to the 
Hellespont where they found the bridge of boats already 
destroyed. The Peloponnesian portion of the fleet then went 
home, but the Athenian squadron remained to attempt the 
expulsion of the Persians from the Chersonese. This had 
formerly been largely under Athenian control, but of late 
Athenians had not been safe there, their property had been 
confiscated, and the route to the Black Sea had become impos- 
sible for their trade. The Greek inhabitants of the peninsula 
welcomed their compatriots, and the Athenians captured Sestos, 
after which, having laden their ships with spoil, and carrying, 
as trophies, portions of the vast cables which had moored the 
bridge of boats, they joyfully returned home. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE REBUILDING OP ATHENS. 

History tells of no greater military failure than the ex- 
pedition of Xerxes, and judging from it, we might be inclined 
to disparage the Persians and glorify the Greeks overmuch. 
The fact is, that all nations are about equally brave, and when 
one is crushed and another triumphant, courage is only one 
of the elements involved. The Persian army was in great 
measure an undisciplined mob, having neither arms nor armour 
suitable for a contest with the Greeks, and it was led by a 
man without military qualities, so that we need not wonder 
at the result. Led by Cyrus or Darius the Persians would 
have given a much better account of themselves, although even 
then they could hardly have hoped for success. 

The Greeks, on the other hand, though valiant enough, 
showed on various occasions poor generalship, and their dis- 
union was a constant source of peril. Anything more scandal- 
ous than Sparta's desertion of Leonidas at Thermopylae can 
scarcely be conceived ; from Salamis the Peloponnesians would 
have fled but for the determination and daring stratagem of 
Themistocles ; and at Platsea bad generalship brought a fine 
army almost to the brink of ruin. 

Greece was saved primarily by Athens and Themistocles. 

From first to last the Athenians had taken the initiative, and 

it was only the persistence and threats of Themistocles that 

kept the other states to their duty. Although their territory 

was twice ravaged, and their city twice destroyed, the Athenians 

never wavered in their patriotism, and at Platsea they showed 

as much courage as the Spartans and better discipline. 

(405) 



406 GEEECE 

Athens had deserved well of Greece and it might have 
been expected that the other states, recognising this, would 
have helped her in every way. But it was far otherwise. 
479. After the battle of Plataea the Athenians returned to a city 
in ruins, and began to rebuild it for the second time. Instead 
of building the walls on their old foundations they deter- 
mined, on the advice of Themistocles, to erect them on so 
large a scale that the population of Attica might shelter 
within the area if necessary. This precaution did not meet 
with the approval of the other states, and iEgina and Corinth 
protested and asked Sparta to interfere. The Spartans sent 
an embassy to Athens to complain, but Themistocles managed 
with rare adroitness to keep them in play until, by working 
day and night, the Athenians had raised the wall sufficiently 
high for defensive purposes, after which the Spartans, though 
greatly mortified, accepted the inevitable. 

Having successfully completed the fortifications of Athens, 
Themistocles next got the Athenians to build strong walls 
round Piraeus, the Athenian seaport. Piraeus had splendid 
harbourage, and now that it was well fortified, and that the 
maritime supremacy of Athens was unquestionable, commerce 
and population increased rapidly. Trade with foreign coun- 
tries was warmly encouraged, many of alien birth came to* 
reside at Piraeus, and this town was soon nearly as important, 
commercially, as the capital. 

Whilst home affairs were thus prospering, foreign policy 
was not neglected. After the battle of Mycale and the subse- 
quent successes of the Athenian contingent, most of the cities 
of the Asiatic Greeks were freed from the Persians though not 
all. With the view of finishing the work a joint expedition, 
promoted by Athens and Sparta, sailed under the command 
of Pausanias, the Athenians forming the larger portion of the 
fleet. 
478. Byzantium was captured by the expedition, and this 

success, coupled with that at Plataea which had been attained 
nominally under his generalship, turned the head of Pausanias. 




THE KEBUILDING OF ATHENS 407 

Although a man of very ordinary ability, he took all the credit 
to himself, and his ambition was fired in the most ridiculous 
way. Disliking the restraints of Spartan life, and enamoured 
of Oriental luxury, he determined to ally himself with Persia 
and to become king, not only of Sparta but of all Greece. 

Accordingly he wrote to Xerxes, and receiving a cordial 
reply, fancied the prize already within his grasp, and began 
to hector and domineer over his comrades. The Greeks 
would not tolerate this, and complaints having been sent to 
Sparta he was recalled. Before his successor could arrive 
there had been an open mutiny, and the captains of the 
other contingents asked the Athenian leaders to take com- 
mand. Dorcis, his successor, therefore arrived too late, and, 
finding his orders ignored, returned home, leaving the fleet 
under the control of Aristeides and Cimon the Athenians. 

When Pausanias returned to Sparta he was put upon his 
trial for treason, but, probably from motives of policy, ac- 
quitted. Instead of taking warning he returned to Asia and 
resumed his treasonable correspondence, so that he was again 
recalled to Sparta, where, instead of being tried a second time, 
he was watched. In his exasperation he not only continued 
corresponding with Persia but planned a rising amongst the 
Helots. At length he was caught red-handed, and as he took 
refuge in a temple, the doors were bricked up and he was - 
starved to death. 

The Athenians had now full command of the fleet, and it 
was determined to continue the war against Persia until every 
Greek city was free. 

A confederation was therefore entered into between the 
various maritime states, by the terms of which it was agreed 
that Athens should have the leadership, that the states should 
unite to furnish ships, men and money for the war, and that 
no state should secede from the confederation without con- 
sent from the rest. The money was to be raised by assessment, 
stored in the sacred island of Delos, and administered by a board 
of delegates over whom the Athenian delegate should preside. 



408 GEEBGE 

Such was the confidence of the Greeks in Aristeides that 
he was entrusted with the delicate task of fixing the propor- 
tions to be paid by the various states ; and the first assessment, 
amounting to 460 talents, was cheerfully contributed. 

The confederacy of Delos was, therefore, in the first in- 
stance a purely military organisation, having for its object 
the liberation of the Greek cities from Persian rule, and so 
successfully was it managed that in a few years the Persian 
garrisons had been swept from Europe and from the Asiatic 
cities on the western coast of Asia Minor. These successes, 
attributable mainly to the excellent leadership of Athens, 
induced many other cities to join the confederacy, so that 
Sparta, formerly the undisputed leader of the Grecian states, 
had now to divide that honour with Athens. 

The Peloponnesians remained faithful to Sparta for the 
most part, but the islands of the JEgean Sea, the Asiatic sea- 
ports and the coast towns in Thrace and the Chalcidian 
peninsula joined the confederacy of Delos and recognised the 
Athenian leadership. This well-deserved exaltation Athens 
owed to the foresight of Themistocles. It was his persistence 
that had induced them to build the fleet which saved Greece, 
freed the cities of the Asiatic Greeks, and made Athens leader 
of the maritime league. Unfortunately, Themistocles had 
not been as careful of himself as of his country. He was a 
brilliant man but not finely sensitive on questions of honour, 
and so long as he gained his end he thought little of the 
means. In time of war when the moral code is by common 
consent laid aside, his crooked methods suited the occasion ; 
but later, when the more solid virtues of peace were required, 
Themistocles was found wanting. 
471. At last he was ostracised and went to live at Argos. This 

was before the death of Pausanias, and that archplotter en- 
deavoured to make him an accomplice. There was no proof 
that Themistocles ever consented to be a party to his intrigues, 
but he did not reveal them. This was not a crime, for the 
plotting of Pausanias had been rather against Sparta than 



THE EEBUILDING OF ATHENS 409 

Athens, but when Pausanias fell, and proof of correspondence 
with Themistocles was produced, he was ordered back to 
Athens to stand his trial. He had too many enemies to make 
this safe, and so after being chased about for two years he 
took refuge with Artaxerxes, who now sat on the Persian 
throne. He was well received and presented with the pro- 
vince of Magnesia which he ruled until his death. With 
the resources of Artaxerxes at his command he might have 
revenged himself on Athens in many ways, but he refrained ; 
and, though he was unscrupulous where other countries were 
concerned, there is no proof that he was ever disloyal towards 
his own. Themistocles was not a model of virtue, but his 
extraordinary services must be held to outweigh his faults. 
To him more than to any other must be given the credit of 
overthrowing Xerxes, and laying the foundation of Athenian 
e-reatness. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE RISE OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. 

The maritime league of which Athens became head was called 
the confederacy of Delos, because its treasure was originally 
kept in that island, and its deputies met there to transact the 
business of the league. After a time, for safety and conveni- 
ence, the treasure was removed to Athens, and the delegates 
from the more distant places ceasing to attend the meetings 
of : the confederacy, the custody and administration of the 
money fell almost entirely into the hands of the Athenians. 

During its early years the league was of great service, 
for there were many Persian garrisons which had to be dealt 
with before Greece could be said to be free, and whilst the 
work of liberation was in progress, the states gladly followed 
Athenian leadership, and willingly did all that was required 
of them as members of the confederacy. 

The arrangement was that the members should supply 
yearly either a specified number of ships and men, or their 
equivalent in money. The alternative seemed reasonable, but 
it did not work out well in practice. Had each state con- 
tinued to supply its quota of men and ships, all would have 
remained on an equal footing. But most of them, weary- 
ing of personal service, compounded for money, allowing 
Athens to find the men and ships herself. Thus it happened 
that whilst the other states were voluntarily disarming, the 
fleet of Athens was increasing to an abnormal extent ; so that, 
without any sinister purpose, she became overwhelmingly 
strong, whilst those who should have been her partners be- 
came merely tributaries. 

(410) 



THE RISE OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 411 

It was not to be expected that this could go on without 
discontent, and when the danger from Persia had passed, some 
of the cities endeavoured to secede from the confederacy. 
Athens, as president, thought herself bound to oppose this 
secession by force of arms, and thus by degrees she became 
little better than a despotic power with subject states. 
Hence Athens became unpopular, and it was a matter for 
regret since she was eminently fitted to lead, and had the 
confederacy been based upon a better foundation, her leader- 
ship might have endured. 

Aristeides died shortly after the exile of Themistocles, and 468. 
Cimon became leader in Athens. Cimon was the son of 
Miltiades, and for his father's sake, and because he was him- 
self a man of undoubted merit, he was deservedly popular. 
He had unfortunately an inordinate reverence for Sparta, and 
though the failing did not prevent his being loyal to Athens 
at heart, it led him into actions which were not entirely for 
her benefit. Cimon thought that Athens and Sparta should 
divide the leadership between them, Athens making her em- 
pire on the sea, Sparta maintaining hers on shore. He 
forgot that Sparta had never shown the faintest desire to 
help any one but herself, and he failed to realise that her 
government, resting as it did upon slavery and oppression, 
could never truly sympathise with that of the Athenian 
democracy. 

Pericles who led the opposition to Cimon's foreign policy, 
though also an aristocrat, had clearer political vision. He 
perceived that Sparta would never be a true ally of Athens, 
but would remain her jealous enemy ; he knew that sooner or 
later the states would be at war, and whilst anxious to avoid 
anything that would precipitate conflict, he thought the true 
policy was to strengthen Athens and leave Sparta severely 
alone. 

Cimon was entrusted with an important expedition against 
the Persians, and gained a great victory over them at the Eury- 
medon. Though the western coast of Asia was free, the cities 



412 GKEECE 

on the southern coast in Lycia and Pamphylia were still under 
Persian suzerainty, and the confederacy of Delos determined 
that they also should be freed. A Persian fleet numbering 

466. 200 vessels gathered at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in 
Pamphylia, and a reinforcement of eighty vessels was hourly 
expected from Cyprus. Cimon attacked the larger squadron 
vigorously, and they ran their ships aground, so that they 
might have the protection of forces on shore, but the Greeks 
also landed, defeated the army, and destroyed the fleet. After 
this achievement they took ship quickly and sailing towards 
Cyprus met the reinforcement and broke it to pieces. This 
triple victory greatly elated the Greeks, and so discouraged 
the Persians that it was many years before they attempted 
anything further upon the sea. 

The dread of Persia having now been removed, and her 
weakness abundantly demonstrated, the object of the con- 
federacy of Delos was to a certain extent accomplished, and it 
would have been wiser for Athens had she, recognising this, 
reduced the tribute to such nominal sum as would have 
sufficed to keep the seas clear. But Athens had tasted the 
sweets of power, and when any of the states desired to 
withdraw from the alliance she treated them as rebels. 

466. Naxos, an island in the Cyclades, was the first to secede. 

In strict justice Athens ought either to have allowed the 
secession, or summoned the other members of the confederacy 
and laid the matter before them. But instead of thus carry- 
ing her allies with her, she acted on her own responsibility, 
blockaded the island, captured it, destroyed its fortifications 
and confiscated its ships — an exhibition of high-handed 
conduct which alarmed the other members of the league, 
and did Athens no good. 

465. The next trouble came from Thasos, an island opposite 

Thrace. The inhabitants of Thasos had enjoyed a monopoly 
of the trade in that region, but the Athenians captured Eion, 
a neighbouring city on the mainland, and tried to make it 
an important commercial centre. Upon this the Thasians 



THE EISB OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIEE 413 

deeming their prosperity imperilled, withdrew from the con- 
federacy, allied themselves with the Thracians, and craved 
help from Sparta. 

The Spartans were becoming increasingly jealous of Athens 
and would have gladly helped, but just at that time their state 
was overtaken by a series of disasters. First came an earth- 464. 
quake — the worst ever felt in Peloponnesus. Sparta was 
greatly shaken and partly destroyed ; there were severe land- 
slips, and many lives were lost. So serious was the disaster 
that the Helots were encouraged to revolt, and the revolt 
spread widely over Laconia and Messenia. The insurgents 
seized the fortress of Ithome, and fought with such desperation 
that the Spartans made no headway against them and had to 
solicit aid from Athens. Cimon, whose pro-Spartan policy 
has been already mentioned, warmly pleaded on their behalf, 
and though stoutly opposed by Ephialtes and Pericles, he 
persuaded the Athenians to send him with 4,000 men to their 
help. Even with this reinforcement the Spartans were un- 
successful, and in their exasperation they foolishly laid the 
blame on the Athenians, and told them they might go home. 
The insult was bitterly resented at Athens. Cimon lost his 
popularity, Ephialtes and Pericles took his place, the alliance 
with Sparta was broken off, and a treaty made with Argos, 
her hereditary enemy. 

The opposition had taken advantage of the absence of 462. 
Cimon in Peloponnesus to carry certain political reforms. Of 
these the most important was the limitation of the power of 
the Areopagus, an assembly which had become increasingly 
aristocratic in tone, the members holding office for life and 
not being elected by the people. 

After a fierce struggle the opposition deprived the Areo- 
pagus of its censorship and veto, leaving it merely a court for 
the trial of homicide. The powers thus taken from the Areo- 
pagus were divided between the Senate and the Ecclesia. All 
this was done during Cimon's absence, and when he returned 
he was enraged and endeavoured to have the law repealed. But 



414 GEEECE 

the failure of his Spartan expedition, and his pro-Spartan 
461. policy generally had made him unpopular and he was ostra- 
cised. The discussion of these questions, and the banishment 
of Cimon, raised much bitterness of feeling, and Ephialtes 
was assassinated, so that Pericles now became the first man 
in Athens. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PERICLES. 

We have seen how rapidly Athens advanced under the re- 
public. Republican government does not necessarily mean 
that the affairs of a country are ' controlled by poor men. 
Under every form of government rich men] generally manage 
to come to the front, for money means power. But in a 
republic every one has a voice, and the poor man feels 
that he counts for something in affairs of state. Now ever 
since the reforms of Cleisthenes, Athens had been a republic ; 
and, owing to this and to the peculiar trials through which 
the country had passed, there was a strong feeling of unity 
amongst the citizens. When the invader came and Athens 
had to be evacuated, rich and poor fled together, the rich 
opening their purses freely to help their poorer neighbours. 
When the women and children were safe, the rich man 
and the poor fought shoulder to shoulder at Salamis and 
Plataea, and when they came back to find their city in ruins 
they found in their common sorrow yet another bond of union. 
This sympathetic feeling found expression in various political 
reforms, amongst which was one which abrogated the old 
timocratic distinction and made poor men as well as rich 
eligible for office. Aristeides carried this provision and 
though it made little difference to the men elected — it was a 
popular enactment. Aristeides guided the republic with 
wisdom, and after his death Cimon carried on the task to 
the best of his judgment, but not to the satisfaction of the 
people. 

Pericles, who succeeded to power on the ostracism of 461. 

(415) 



416 GEEEGE 

Cimon and death of Ephialtes, was the greatest of Athenian 
statesmen. He was of noble birth and lofty purpose, a deep 
thinker and a great orator, a supporter of republic institutions — 
not for the sake of pleasing the people, but because he believed 
them to be necessary for the full development of a state. 
When Cimon and his party tried to keep the constitution in 
the old groove, Pericles advocated reform, perceiving that 
changed times demanded changed methods. The obscure 
town had become a commercial metropolis and head of a 
powerful league ; its markets were thronged with the mer- 
chants of the world ; its navy was unsurpassed. Athens had, 
in the judgment of Pericles, been called to govern, and it was 
his ambition that her citizens should walk worthy of their 
high vocation. 

In politics Pericles' guiding principle was that what con- 
cerns all should be approved by all. Although himself noble 
he had little confidence in the special wisdom of his class, and 
believed that with all their faults the mass of the people were 
more likely to form an impartial judgment upon questions of 
political importance than any special section of them. That 
they might the better accomplish this, he spared no pains to 
train the citizens for their duties. The powers of the aristo- 
cratic Areopagus were transferred to the popular assemblies, 
and every citizen was made to feel that he had a direct interest 
in good government. The poor wise man was as free to serve 
the state as the rich, and thus all were encouraged — their 
intelligence was quickened, and a worthy field of ambition 
opened to all. 

It may be that Pericles had too much faith in humanity. 
Knowing only too well the selfishness of the aristocracy, he 
may have forgotten that selfishness is not an attribute of the 
aristocracy alone, but that the poor as well as the rich have 
their share. Yet if he erred, it was on the safer side. He 
believed in Athens and in the people. His political life ex- 
tended over forty years, during thirty of which he led the 
state, yet remaining a simple citizen, never ruling by force, 



PEEICLES 417 

but influencing all by his wisdom, eloquence and manifest 
singleness of purpose. 

It was under Pericles that Athens developed those artistic 
qualities which made her the wonder of the world. She had 
a large revenue. The confederacy had become an empire and 
the subscription to the common fund a tribute, in return for 
which Athens kept the Persians in check and the sea free 
from pirates. But when she had done this, there remained a 
surplus, out of which Pericles thought at least a portion 
should be devoted to beautifying the metropolis of the Grecian 
world. Accordingly he spent money freely in civic improve- 
ments, laying out the streets with extreme care, and adorning 
the city with magnificent buildings : the Parthenon, the Odeon 
the Propylsea, the Erechtheum and many others, some of 
them of surpassing beauty. The chief director of these works 
was Phidias, an artist born just after Marathon, who made 
his reputation as a sculptor at an early age, and was chosen 
by Pericles, not only to execute the principal statues, but 
to oversee all the works of art which were to embellish 
the city. Phidias was a man of colossal genius who emanci- 
pated himself from the conventionalism of the past and gave to 
the world new conceptions of architecture and sculpture. He 
employed as assistants the best workmen he could obtain, 
and, as money was plentiful, they worked wonders in Athens. 

Nor were the literary achievements of the city at this 
time less important. From the beginning of the republic 
mental life had been continually quickening, and the effect 
was felt on every side. Herodotus, the historian, an Asiatic 
Greek by birth but Athenian at heart, belonged to the time 
of Pericles, though he survived him for many years ; and 
Thucydides, the historian of the Peloponnesian war, was his 
contemporary and a powerful political opponent. Science also 
was studied at Athens, though under difficulties, for the 
Athenians were in all things too superstitious, and had not 
yet learned that men may desire to search out the secrets of 
nature without being infidels. Finally, in the realm of philo- 

27 



418 GEEECE 

sophy it is hardly too much to say that the researches which 
sprang from the quickened intelligence of this period origin- 
ated methods of reasoning and started lines of thought which 
have guided the intellectual world ever since. 

Pericles could not make the Athenians readers, for in his 
day books could only be possessed by the wealthy. But he did 
better, he made them thinkers, awakening and enlivening 
their faculties, and infusing new interest into their daily life. 

The leader of the opposition during this period was Thucy- 
dides, a man not greatly inferior to Pericles as a speaker, but 
by no means his equal in other ways. Thucydides repre- 
sented the aristocratic party and opposed the new policy. 
The opposition was chiefly directed against the method by 
which Pericles conducted foreign affairs — Thucydides urging 
that Athenians should not so extend their empire as to 
arouse the envy of other states, and that they ought not 
to employ the money contributed by the confederacy in 
beautifying their own city. 

It must be confessed that there was much justice in the 
argument put forward by Thucydides, but Pericles contended 
that the money was paid for protection ; and that, so long as 
Athens protected her allies, she might use the surplus as she 
felt inclined. The argument was plausible, but it lost sight 
-of the twofold nature of a contract, and it would have been 
fairer all round, and better for themselves in the long run, had 
the Athenians reduced the assessment to the amount actu- 
ally required for defensive purposes, and spent only the 
surplus of their own proper revenue upon the decoration of 
their city. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ATHENS AT HER ZENITH. 

We have now seen how, after the Persian wars, the coast 
towns and islands of Greece formed a maritime league with 
Athens as leader, and how powerful the league became. 
Its rise was the more rapid as the confederacy of Pelopon- 
nesian States, so long led by Sparta, was checked by the 
revolt of Laconia and Messenia. There was a third league 
in Greece, the Boeotian, of which Thebes was leader, and be- 
tween the Boeotian and Athenian leagues there was bitter 
hostility at all times. 

We have also seen how, when all danger from Persia had 
passed away, the confederacy of Delos began to break up, first 
Naxos and then Thasos seceding and having to be forced 
back to their allegiance. We saw also that in Athens itself 
there was difference of opinion with regard to foreign policy, 
some wishing to keep on friendly terms with Sparta, and 
some averse to further expansion of empire, but that Pericles 
eventually became supreme, a man who had profound faith in 
the destiny of Athens and was determined to increase her power. 

With the object of strengthening the position of Athens, 

Pericles made alliance with Megara, the state lying due 

west of Attica. Megara was at war with Corinth, and asked 

help from Athens, and it was accorded. It seemed a wise 

thing for Athens to have Megara on her side, for the state 

lay between Sparta and Attica, and being mountainous 

could be easily defended. In case of war with the Spartans 

it would evidently be easier for the Athenians to meet them 

in the mountains of Megara than in Attica. 

(419) 



420 GEEECE 

458. But Athens profited nothing by this alliance. It bitterly- 

offended the Corinthians, who, in turn, allied themselves with 
iEgina, Athens' mortal foe, and declared war against the com- 

460. mon enemy. They did this with the more confidence because 
Athens had shortly before weakened her fleet by sending 200 
vessels to Egypt to help Inarus in his revolt against Artaxerxes. 
But they underestimated the resources of the Athenians who, 
notwithstanding this serious diminution of their strength, 
gained a great victory over the fleets of Corinth and iEgina 
combined, after which they landed on the island of iEgina 
and blockaded the town. The Corinthians, thinking Athens 
stripped of her defenders, seized the golden opportunity and 
marched on the city, but the Athenians who had been left at 
home, too young or too old to be with the army, sallied forth 
and routed the Corinthians with great slaughter. Thus at the 
same time the Athenians were holding their own in ^Egina, 
Megara and Egypt. A pillar was erected giving the names of 

458. the Athenians who died for their country that year, and a 
fragment of the inscription still remains. 

During the same year a work was undertaken calculated 
to increase greatly the defensive power of Athens. The port 
of Piraeus lay four miles from the capital, and both towns 
were fortified, but if attacked by land they could be easily 
severed and blockaded separately. This was the more serious 
as Athens depended for her food upon supplies coming by sea, 
and Piraeus was her only port. So long as the Athenian fleet 
kept command of the sea, food could be brought to Piraeus, 
but if Athens were surrounded this supply would fail. To 
remedy this state of things two parallel walls were built con- 
necting Athens with her port, about 200 yards apart and four 
miles long ; and as these walls could be easily defended, a safe 
passage was ensured between the cities, and starvation was 
impossible while Athens kept command of the sea. Later on 
an intermediate wall was built, giving an alternative route 
and thus making assurance doubly sure. 

The rapid rise of Athens and her gigantic preparations for 



ATHENS AT HEE ZENITH 421 

defence alarmed her rivals. Of these none hated her more 
bitterly than Thebes. The enmity between the cities was 
of long standing, and had been aggravated at the time of the 
Persian invasion when Thebes took the side of Xerxes. At 
the battle of Platsea the Theban contingent fought against 
the Athenian, and only retired because the rest of the Persian 
army was beaten. After the defeat of the Persians Thebes 
was severely dealt with, and removed from her position as 
head of the Boeotian League, whilst Platsea, a city of Bceotia 
friendly to Athens, was declared free. All this had intensified 
ill feeling, nor did it help matters that Thebes was governed 
by an oligarchy and Athens by a republic. The sympathies 
of Sparta lay with oligarchies, and as she hated Athens in 
any case there was between her and Boeotia some ground 
for friendship. Accordingly when war arose between Bceotia 
and Phocis, Sparta sent an army to help the Boeotians 
so that the Phocians who were allies with the Athenians 
were easily crushed. In going northward the Spartan army 
had crossed the Gulf of Corinth, but they returned by land, 
thus coming perilously near Attica. As they marched 
southward, a rumour arose that an attack on Athens was 
contemplated, and that there was a conspiracy between the 
oligarchical party in the city, and the Spartans ; whereupon 
the Athenians, greatly alarmed, and believing that war with 
Sparta was in any case only a question of time, determined 
to intercept them in Megara. 

In the battle of Tanagra which followed, the Athenians 457. 
were beaten, owing to the desertion of a body of Thessalian 
cavalry, but so stoutly was the battle contested that the 
Spartans were glad to proceed homeward, not daring to 
follow up their victory. 

Next spring the Athenians had their revenge. Quite 456. 
early in the year, before the usual time for campaigning, and 
before any help could come from Peloponnesus, they invaded 
Bceotia, and overran the country. There was a party favour- 
able to Athens in most of the cities, and the Athenians 



422 GEEECE 

succeeded in gaining possession of every city, even Thebes 
itself, overthrowing the oligarchies and establishing republics 
everywhere. 

These changes of government pleased the commons, and 
from this time forth there were two parties in every Boeotian 
city ; the people, looking to Athens for protection, and the 
aristocrats, favouring oligarchy and inclining towards Sparta. 

Shortly afterwards a truce for five years was arranged 
between Sparta, Athens, and their respective allies. 
451. Athens had now reached her zenith. The establishment of 

republics in the cities of Bceotia had given her practical 
control of that state ; Megara was under her protection ; Argos 
was her ally. The names of 249 cities appeared on the list of 
the confederacy, of whom 246 compounded, paying tribute, 
whilst Samos, Lesbos and Chios preserved a certain amount 
of independence by retaining their own fleets. The maritime 
supremacy of Athens was unchallenged ; Persia showed no 
sign, and Athenian suzerainty was acknowledged by nearly 
every island in the iEgean, and seaport in Western Asia. 
Thanks to Pericles, moreover, Athens itself was now the most 
beautiful city in the world, and a rendezvous for the cultivated 
of every land. 

Sparta on the other hand had made no progress. Despising 
education and hating industry the Spartans held to their old 
ways, and spent their lives in athletics and soldiering. Had 
they done this from high motives it might have been well ; 
but they did it, not to protect their country, but in order that 
they might lord it over their subjects, living in idleness whilst 
these toiled like slaves for their support. Thus blinded by 
ignorance and self-seeking, the Spartans were incapable of 
appreciating the truer greatness of Athens, and only plotted 
to cast her down from her excellency. 

When the Athenian army, marching to fight the battle of 
Tanagra, crossed the frontier, it was met by Cimon, then under 
sentence of ostracism, who pleaded for permission to fight in its 
ranks ; and when this was refused he entreated his friends to 



ATHENS AT HER ZENITH 423 

do their best in the battle, and thus clear their party of the 
suspicion of treason which had fallen upon it. They fought 
nobly, many falling in the front rank, and though the 
Athenians lost the battle, Cimon's conduct gave so much 
satisfaction that his sentence was revoked. 

Mention has been made of the fact that Athens, in the hope 
of injuring Persia, had sent an expedition to Egypt to help 
Inarus and Amyrtseus, princes who were holding out against 
Artaxerxes in the marshes of the Delta. The fleet sailed up 
the Nile as far as Memphis, and was for a time successful ; but 
Artaxerxes, alarmed at the presence of Athenians in Egypt 
made such exertions that they were annihilated. 

This disaster made the Athenians eager to be revenged 
upon the Persians, and Cimon persuaded them to let him have 
200 ships and a roving commission. With these he attacked 449. 
Cyprus, which still belonged to Persia, and gained two brilliant 
victories, but in the very hour of triumph he was smitten by 
sickness and died, upon which the expedition returned to 
Athens. 

After Cimon's death the Athenians determined to let Persia 445. 
alone, and Callias was sent to Susa to negotiate a peace. No 
definite treaty was entered into between the powers, but an 
understanding was arrived at, by which they undertook to 
live and let live — Athens to refrain from attacking Persian 
territory ; Persia to leave the Asiatic Greeks unmolested. 

Just before these events serious trouble had arisen in 447. 
Bceotia, where the Athenians had established the republics. 
The exiled nobles watched for an opportunity, and when an 
insurrection broke out in Northern Bceotia against the repub- 
lican party, they hurried back to help. The Athenians under- 
estimated the strength of the enemy, and sent only 1,000 hoplites 
to quell the insurrection, a force which was easily defeated and 
captured. In order to recover these prisoners, the Athenians 
had to promise not to interfere again in Boeotian affairs, 
so that the republics were everywhere overthrown, and 
oligarchies re-established. Thus by bad management the 



424 GEEECE 

Athenians lost control in Boeotia, and therewith control over 
Phocis and Locris the adjacent provinces. 
446. Next year saw a continuance of trouble. First Eubcea 

revolted, and Pericles himself led an army against the island. 
No sooner had he reached it than he was apprised of the revolt 
of the Megarians. Megara had appealed to Athens to be per- 
mitted to make alliance with her, and Athens had agreed, had 
saved her from Corinth, and generously put her city into a 
condition of defence ; and now, at this crisis, the Megarians 
perfidiously turned upon their benefactor. 

This miserable declension was the more serious as it left 
the way to Athens open to Sparta, and as soon as the five 
years' truce came to an end Sparta declared war and invaded 
Attica. 

The position of Athens was one of extreme peril, as the 
Spartans were in overwhelming numbers, but when their 
army had got as far as Eleusis it halted ; and, after a few days, 
turned and went home. Undoubtedly Pericles had bribed the 
generals heavily to bring this about, and on their return they 
were prosecuted and banished. Life in Sparta was not, how- 
ever, very joyous at the best of times, and it may be that 
Spartan generals regarded exile with complacency when it 
was accompanied with the means of living in luxury. At any 
rate, the Spartan kings and generals were notoriously open to 
bribery, and on this occasion the sum paid must have been 
substantial. 

Being relieved from this great danger Pericles was able to 
pay undivided attention to Euboea, and after a brilliant cam- 
paign he succeeded in subduing the entire island. This was 
all he dared attempt, for none knew better than he in how 
perilous a position Athens stood. 
445. Next year a thirty years' peace was negotiated with 

Sparta, by the terms of which Athens gave up all claim to 
supremacy on land for the sake of preserving her maritime 
empire. 

It was in this year also, and just after peace had been 



ATHENS AT HEE ZENITH 425 

arranged with Sparta, that the understanding was arrived at 
with Persia to which reference has been made, so that Athens 
had now rest from her enemies round about. True, the peace 
with Sparta did not last thirty years, but only fourteen ; 
nevertheless, whilst it lasted, it was of great value to 
Athens. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE HOME AND FOREIGN POLICY OF PERICLES. 

445. At this time Pericles was all powerful in Athens. Not that 
he was in any sense a despot, but he so surpassed the rest in 
ability, popularity and knowledge of affairs, that no one 
could hope to oppose successfully anything on which he set his 
mind. Thucydides, who led the opposition, was a man of 
much less capacity, and his following was not large enough to 
permit of his seriously thwarting Pericles in his plans. It 
would have been better for Athens had the opposition been 
stronger, for in spite of the ability and single-mindedness of 
Pericles there was much about his policy to which serious 
exception must be taken. 

The opposition of Thucydides was largely directed against 
the misspending of the money furnished by the allies. The 
Delian league embraced 249 cities, and supplied Athens with 
a tribute of 600 talents, in return for which she had now 
little to do but keep the sea free from pirates, a service easily 
performed by a fleet of sixty vessels. So excessive indeed was 
the tribute, that after paying for the fleet, and the lavish 
decoration of the city, nearly 10,000 talents remained, ac- 
cumulated in the Acropolis. The tribute was revised every 
four years and divided fairly enough amongst the tributaries, 
who were so numerous that it may not have borne very 
heavily upon any, nevertheless it was paid most unwillingly 
by all. 

The payment of tribute however, did not constitute the 
only grievance the allies had against Athens. The Athenians 

were now widely scattered over the cities of the confederation, 

(426) 



THE HOME AND FOEEIGN POLICY OF PERICLES 427 

and acted as a dominant race. The local courts of the allies 
were largely superseded in favour of a concentration of juris- 
diction at Athens. All public suits, all cases involving capital 
punishment, and law suits where an Athenian was either 
plaintiff or defendant were brought to Athens for trial, and 
the court at Athens was a court of final appeal in matters of 
importance, whether Athenian interests were involved or not. 
Nothing need be said by way of disparaging the Athenian 
tribunal. It was quite capable and fair, but reference to it 
delayed justice, increased expense, and was considered a 
badge of subjection. We may go farther, and acknowledge 
that in all probability the allies of Athens had less justice 
and more oppression under their old oligarchies than under 
Athenian jurisdiction. Nevertheless, experience shows that, in 
the main, a state would rather be misgoverned by a man of 
its own breeding than well governed by a stranger. Athens 
had no sentiment to appeal to in her subject allies ; and now 
that the fear of Persia had passed away, and there was no 
all-pervading interest to keep them loyal, it behoved her to 
walk warily, remembering that she had enemies in every 
city magnifying her faults, belittling her services, and ceasing 
not to declare to the people how much happier they would be 
were she dethroned. 

Moreover, if serious exception could be taken to Pericles' 
foreign policy, his home policy was scarcely less open to 
criticism. 

In considering Greek history, it is necessary to remember 
that we are only dealing with a section of the popula- 
tion. From Homeric times there had been slaves in Greece, 
and though these were at first not numerous, as wealth 
increased slavery began to abound. Slaves were used in 
agriculture, trading, handicrafts and domestic work. There 
were public slaves and private slaves, and much of the labour 
in Athens was slave labour. The wealth which flowed in 
upon the Athenians from the tribute had therefore a double 
effect : firstly it led to increase of slave labour, which in 



428 GEEECB 

itself is a curse to any country ; and secondly, it enabled 
the Athenian citizens to leave manual labour to those whom 
they counted their inferiors, and to spend their own lives in 
the courts and political assemblies. 

The Athenian legal methods encouraged the attendance of 
large numbers of the citizens in the courts. The assembly of 
the people was also the supreme court for the Athenian state, 
and had not only to deal with the ordinary legal business of 
Attica, but with much business sent up from the towns of the 
confederacy. Six thousand citizens were chosen annually for 
the judicial work, divided into ten panels or dicasteries of 
500 each, the remainder forming a reserve from which 
vacancies were filled. The enormous size of the panels neces- 
sitated the attendance of great numbers of the citizens at the 
courts, indeed the 6,000 chosen men had to be always within 
reach lest they might be summoned to serve. Men could 
not render this prolonged service without payment, and first 
an obol and afterwards three oboli a day were paid to the 
jurymen, many of whom practically spent their lives in the 
law courts and assemblies. 

There was no harm in paying jurymen for their services ; 
the mischief lay in the vast number of citizens called upon to 
serve, forty times as many as there was any real need for. 
This led the Athenians into lazy habits, and made them fancy 
that the chief duty of a citizen was to be a politician and 
amateur judge, whereas it behoved them first to be diligent 
in business, and thus add to the wealth and happiness of the 
community. 

Having once begun the system of subsidising the citizens in 
masses it was not easy to draw the line. Money was flowing 
in, and if it might be used in paying jurymen and adorning 
the city, why not in providing pageants, and plays, and re- 
freshments on days of public rejoicing ? Not that these things 
were altogether evil in their effect. It must be remembered 
that books were beyond the reach of the people in those times, 
and that they could not be educated in schools and colleges as 



THE HOME AND EOEEIGN POLICY OF PEEICLES 429 

they are now. Pericles, therefore, believing that the greatness 
of Athens would largely depend upon the intellectual develop- 
ment of her citizens, tried to awaken their faculties by such 
means as lay within his power, and doubtless thought that 
when a man sat on a jury considering questions of law, or in 
the assembly discussing politics, or in the theatre witnessing 
a play written by one of their great poets, he was being 
educated in the best way. This was true, but true only 
to a certain extent. Had the Athenians paid for their 
political, legal and dramatic training out of their own pockets, 
it would probably have been kept within reasonable limits, 
but the money for these things came from their allies, and 
came so easily, that whilst some may have been benefited by 
the method of expenditure, most were demoralised. 

Whilst, therefore, we must fully recognise the high quali- 
ties and noble aims of Pericles, we must allow that his methods 
were not always sound, and that he would have been greatly 
the better for a vigorous opposition. Unfortunately the opposi- 
tion led by Thucydides, whilst correct in some of its views, 
was too philo-Spartan to be popular, and Thucydides was 
ostracised. This was to be regretted as there was no one to 
fill his place. Pericles had now a free hand and lacked that 
healthy criticism upon his actions without which even the best 
governments go astray. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

ATHENS AND HER ENEMIES. 

We have already had occasion to notice the secession of Naxos 
and Thasos from the confederacy of Delos and the severity 
which was used to bring them back. The next to revolt was 

440. Samos, and when the Athenians attacked the Samians in 
force they appealed to Sparta for help. The Peloponnesian 
states met to consider the question, and Corinth, being herself 
in trouble with rebellious dependencies, argued that Athens 
should not be interfered with, and the Samians were left to 
fight their own battle. Accordingly they were soon subjugated, 
their fortifications destroyed, their war-ships seized and a fine 
of 1,000 talents inflicted upon them. 

Though Corinth was generally unfriendly towards Athens, 
her action in this particular instance had been creditable, and 
Athens should have remembered this in subsequent events. 
Corinth, a great coloniser, had founded a colony in the island 
of Corcyra, but quarrels arose and the Corcyraeans refused to 
acknowledge allegiance to the mother country. Some of the 
inhabitants of Corcyra settled on the mainland, founding the 
city of Epidamnus, in which the usual quarrel between oli- 

435. garchy and democracy arose. The democrats appealed to 

Corcyra for help, but she refused to interfere, upon which 

they applied to Corinth. The Corinthians, glad of a 

chance to insult Corcyra, willingly sent help to Epidamnus 

and made alliance ; and the islanders were so exasperated 

at their interference that they blockaded Epidamnus and 

captured it. The Corinthians could not brook this defiance 

and made war on their colonists, who thereupon sent envoys 

(430) 



ATHENS AND HEE ENEMIES 431 

to Athens, and asked to be taken under her protection and 433. 
included in the confederacy. 

Had this request come at an ordinary time it might have 
been worth considering, but coming when it did Athens should 
have refused to meddle. It was a dangerous thing to interfere 
between Corinth and her colony in any case, and it was 
specially impolitic after the action of Corinth with regard 
to Samos. 

Corcyra had no claim whatever upon Athens, nor had her 
conduct been so estimable in the present instance as to make 
it desirable that the city should run risks for her sake. Her 
appeal was made, as the appeal from Megara had been made, 
in order to tide over the difficulties of the moment, and when 
the danger was past she was likely to prove as faithless an 
ally as Megara had been. 

Pericles, however, having made up his mind that war 432. 
between Athens and Peloponnesus must come sooner or 
later, thought that Corcyra might prove a valuable ally and 
sent a fleet in her defence. The result was that the Corinth- 
ians had to withdraw from their expedition against the island, 
and that the Athenians made of Corinth an irreconcilable 
enemy who waited eagerly for her revenge. 

The opportunity soon came. That very year Potidsea, 
originally a Corinthian colony, but now a member of the 
Delian confederacy, revolted against Athens, and Corinth 
sent an expedition to her help. Not only so, but the 
Corinthians persuaded Sparta to call a congress of states to 
consider the high-handed action of Athens, and to determine 
whether there should not be a combined war against her. In 
this congress Athens had many enemies and few friends. 
Corinth had Corcyra vividly in mind, and was bent on war. 
Megara, whom Athens had shut out of the ports of the 
confederation as a punishment for her rebellion, was equally 
warlike ; whilst Thebes, who hated Athens with an undying- 
hatred, was of the same mind. These were special and 
particular enemies, but amongst the remaining states there 



432 GEEBCE 

were few who had not some sort of grievance against the 
city whose prosperity they envied. 

Athens was not invited to the congress, but some Athenians, 
who were in Sparta at the time, were allowed to speak on 
behalf of their city. They put the case well, reminding the 
delegates what Athens had done for Greece, in saving the 
country from Persia. They explained how the states them- 
selves had formed the league and appointed her president, and 
how all things had been done by her in that capacity. They said 
Athens was hated because she was the ruling state, and that 
if Sparta were ruling they would hate her still more. The 
arguments were sound, but they made no difference to the 
decision of the congress, for the warlike spirit was abroad. 

For form's sake an embassy was sent to Athens demanding 
the banishment of Pericles, the withdrawal of the Athenians 
from Potidsea, the restoration of autonomy to iEgina, and 
the repeal of the decree which prevented Megara from trading 
with the ports of the confederacy. When Athens refused to 
consent to these, they made one demand, that she should 
restore autonomy to the Greek cities in her confederation. 

It happened that at this time Pericles was unpopular in 
Athens, where his enemies, not daring to attack him openly, 
were prosecuting his friends. But the demand that he should 
be expelled from Athens had the usual effect of foreign inter- 
ference, for it reinstated him in favour at home. 

There was a strong peace party in Athens, and had the 
Peloponnesians been sincere in their demands, the Athenians 
would have met them in a spirit of conciliation. But Pericles 
pointed out ;^that their enemies had determined upon war, 
that they hated Athens because she was prosperous, that 
nothing short of her destruction would satisfy them, and 
that concessions would be made in vain. 

Undoubtedly Pericles was right. The demand for the 
restoration of autonomy to the cities was merely a pretext ; 
for when, years later, Sparta became supreme, she proved a 
greater tyrant than Athens, and did not make the slightest 



ATHENS AND HEE ENEMIES 433 

effort to grant the autonomy for which she now clamoured. 
The conduct of Athens towards her allies had not been wise, 
and she learned this to her cost when she found that 
the confederacy was held together by a rope of sand. Yet 
the war was not originated by members of the confeder- 
acy, but by outside states who could have had no grievance 
in connection with it. The war was brought about because 
Sparta and her allies hated Athens and thirsted for her blood, 
but it was precipitated by the action of Pericles with regard 
to Corcyra ; and it was made much harder for Athens because 
she had worked the confederacy on lines which gave dissatis- 
faction to the other members, and had thus deprived herself 
of that cordial help in the hour of trial which she might well 
have received under more favourable conditions. 



28 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

431. The die was cast, and an internecine conflict begun, destined 
to rage until Athens was crushed and Greece had so exhausted 
her resources that she fell an easy prey to the Macedonian 
invader. 

On one side stood Sparta, with the whole of the Pelopon- 
nesian states except Argos and Achaia ; on the other, Athens 
practically alone. It is true that the cities of the confederacy 
were nominally on her side, as were also Messenia, Acarnania, 
Thessaly and Corcyra, but during the war she got little help 
from any one. She had, however, a substantial advantage 
over her enemies so long as her allies did not suspend payment 
of the tribute. The Athenian revenue, tribute and taxation 
together, amounted to 1,000 talents, and 6,000 talents lay 
in the Acropolis ready for immediate use. Sparta, on the 
other hand, was extremely poor, and from mere lack of the 
sinews of war was unable to keep an army in the field for 
more than a month or two at a time. So long, therefore, as 
the tribute was paid, Athens had a chance, but as the Pelopon- 
nesian states declared, however untruly, that they were fight- 
ing for autonomy, there was great danger lest the cities of 
the confederacy should cease to pay tribute, even if they did 
not become active enemies. 

As the Peloponnesians could put an overwhelming army 
in the field, Pericles determined not to meet them by land. 
The area embraced within the long walls between Athens and 
Piraeus was capable of sheltering the inhabitants of Attica, 

and it was agreed that on the approach of the enemy these 

(434) 



THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 435 

should hasten to the capital with their valuables. So long as 
Athens kept control of the sea the people could not be starved, 
and the destruction of their crops might be avenged by a 
descent upon Peloponnesus. Athens, Pericles thought, could 
hurt Peloponnesus in this way at least as much as Peloponnesus 
could hurt Athens. 

The war began with an attack made by the Thebans on 431. 
Platsea — the little city which had served Athens so well in the 
past. Platsea had obtained autonomy in return for services 
during the Persian invasion, and the states had sworn to 
respect its territory, but this counted for nothing now. The 
Thebans hated Plataea as much as they hated Athens ; and 
when they were invited by the oligarchical party in the city, 
a detachment of them made a night attack and got inside the 
gates. They were few, however, and reinforcements not 
arriving quickly enough, they were captured. As soon as 
Athens heard of the capture she sent to entreat the Platseans 
not to harm the prisoners, as they would be invaluable hos- 
tages, but before the messenger arrived they had been executed. 
It was a barbarous and impolitic act, but it could not be 
undone and so all non-combatants were removed from Platsea 
to Athens and the city garrisoned. 

The Peloponnesian army now invaded Attica, and as the 
inhabitants had sheltered in Athens, they revenged them- 
selves as best they could, burning down the farmsteads and 
destroying the crops. When they saw their homes on fire the 
country people eagerly clamoured for a sortie, but Pericles 
restrained them. He sent instead a naval expedition against 
Peloponnesus, which did great damage to the coast ports ; and 
when the army retired, after ravaging Attica for a month, 
Pericles sallied forth .and treated Megara in the same 
way. Towards ^Egina he acted in very high-handed 
fashion. The iEginetans were members of the confederacy 
but far from cordial; and Pericles, afraid of a revolt which 
might establish an enemy at the very door of Athens, sent 
an expedition, deported the inhabitants, landed them in 



436 GEEECE 

Peloponnesus and placed Athenians in iEgina in their 
stead. 

Obsequies were held for those who had fallen for Athens 
during that year, and Pericles made an oration in honour of 
the dead. In this speech, which has been preserved to us by 
Thucydides, he reviewed the question from the beginning, 
justified what Athens had done, and showed how well fatted 
she was to be the leader of Greece. 
430. In the first year of the war the Peloponnesians had done 

Athens little harm, and the same might have been said of the 
second but for the breaking out of a terrible plague in the 
crowded city. This plague, which was of the nature of malig- 
nant typhus, and did not originate in Athens, but came like 
so many other plagues from the East, had been hovering 
about for some years, and had visited Egypt and Rome. The 
crowded condition of Athens, the insufficient and polluted 
water supply, and the want of proper sanitation gave the 
disease every chance, and it spread like wildfire. A fourth 
part of the population died— the suffering, misery and de- 
moralisation of the people were indescribable ; and when, to 
relieve the congestion, expeditions were fitted out for foreign 
service, they carried the infection with them. 

In their despair the Athenians turned upon Pericles whom 
they considered mainly responsible for the war, and deposed 
and fined him, but when they recalled his services to Athens 
there was a reaction in his favour, and he was re-elected. 
His renewed tenure of office was destined to be brief. Like 
the rest he had been hard hit by the plague. He had lost 
his sister and two sons, and at last he was smitten by it him- 
429. self. He recovered from the actual disease, but had not 
strength to rally, and died in a few weeks. 

Pericles was a truly great man, and though he made 
mistakes they were errors of judgment, not of heart. An 
aristocrat by birth and a democrat by conviction, he never 
pandered to the people, nor sought power from any other 
motive than a desire to benefit them. He tried to keep the 



THE PELOPONNBSIAN WAK 437 

Athenians from rash enterprises, and though we may think 
that he acted unwisely with regard to Corcyra, we must not 
lay all the sad consequences of the Peloponnesian war at his 
door. We must remember that he died soon after it began, 
and that the Athenians might on various occasions have made 
an honourable peace had they been so disposed. Had Pericles 
lived, judging from his character, we have a right to believe 
that he would have induced them to accept peace when it was 
offered, and thus saved them from their worst misfortunes. 
The death of Pericles was a heavy blow to Athens. His 
political life had extended over forty years, during most of 
which he had been the first man in the state. Thus, whilst 
Athens had the forms and advantages of popular government, 
she also profited by the unity of purpose which can be best 
supplied at critical times by one master mind, for whatever 
Pericles advised the people willed. When he died there was 
no one fitted to fill so great a place, and the leadership of 
the people fell into the hands of men of popular gifts but 
inferior ability. As a result the Athenians lost that unity 
which had been such a blessing to the state ; the old divisions 
between aristocracy and democracy again cropped up and clubs 
were started by means of which the various parties tried to 
keep power in their own hands. Thus there was divided 
counsel, and consequent weakness in affairs of state. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE DEFENSIVE POLICY ABANDONED. 

430. The year before the death of Pericles had seen the fall of 
Potidsea, the siege of which had helped so greatly to precipitate 
the Peloponnesian war. The generals who had charge of the 
operations, anxious to shorten the siege for the sake of their 
men, gave the Potidseans good terms, and were censured 
by the Athenians for their lenity. Amongst these generals 
was Xenophon, afterwards to become so famous in connection 
with the retreat of the 10,000. 

429. The year that Pericles died, Archidamus, the Spartan king, 

laid siege to Platsea, which had been deserted by most of its 
inhabitants but was garrisoned by 500 men. Whatever 
excuse there may have been for Thebes when it attacked 
Plataea, there was none for Sparta, the siege being a direct 
violation of the oath taken by Pausanias. Finding it im- 
possible to capture the town by assault, Archidamus invested 
it, but the garrison held out for two years, at the end of which 
time, as provisions were failing, half escaped by night. The 

427. remaining handful prolonged the siege for six months, and 
then surrendered. They were carried to Sparta, and, after a 
mock trial, executed, and Platsea was levelled with the 
ground. 

429. Meanwhile there had been fighting in the west of Greece. 

The inhabitants of Acarnania and Naupactus, a state and city 

north of the Corinthian Gulf, the only allies Athens had in 

that neighbourhood, were attacked by the Peloponnesians. 

Phormio, the Athenian admiral there, had but twenty vessels 

under his command, whilst the Peloponnesians had forty-seven, 

(438) 



THE DEFENSIVE POLICY ABANDONED 439 

nevertheless he defeated them. The Pelopcmnesians sent re- 
inforcements so that Phormio had now seventy-seven vessels to 
contend against. To understand what followed it is necessary 
to remember that the Athenians had improved upon early 
naval tactics. Formerly the plan was to get alongside of the 
enemy, fasten the grappling irons and hammer away, and to 
this plan the Peloponnesians adhered. The Athenians, on the 
other hand, trusted to manoeuvring, rowing swiftly, turning 
quickly, ramming, and either sinking or disabling the enemy 
without coming to close quarters. Accordingly when Phormio 
was attacked by seventy -seven ships he fled. Nine of his 
ships were driven aground — the rest were chased. The Spartan 
admiral, Timocrates, was leading the pursuit, and rapidly 
overhauling a trireme of the enemy. It happened that a 
merchantman was lying at anchor, and the Athenian captain, 
seeing his chance, circled round it at full speed, dashed into 
the flagship and disabled it. Timocrates, mad with rage, slew 
himself; and the other Athenians, encouraged by what had 
happened, turned upon their pursuers, captured several vessels 
and drove the rest before them in flight. It was a daring and 
successful naval feat, but it had no important effect on the 
war. 

Next year a heavy blow fell upon Athens through the 428. 
revolt of the island of Lesbos on which stood the important 
city of Mytilene. Lesbos was the largest of the islands in the 
iEgean ; and, since the revolt of Samos and the confiscation of 
her ships, was one of the two islands still retaining an inde- 
pendent fleet. The revolt of this important island, and the 
dread lest its example should be followed by other members 
of the confederacy, greatly distressed the Athenians, whose 
resources had been tried to the utmost by two years of plague ; 
nevertheless they strained every nerve, and sent a powerful 
fleet to subjugate the rebels. Another squadron, numbering 
100 vessels, was sent to ravage the Peloponnesian coast towns, 
and thus prevent the Spartans from succouring the revolted 
island. 



440 GEBECE 

427. The Lesbians appealed to Sparta, and had it been possible 

to send them help by land it would have been sent gladly, 
but Phormio's victories and the presence of the Athenian 
squadron on their own shores made the Spartans hesitate. 
When at length a fleet was sent, the admiral took so circuitous 
a route in order to avoid the Athenians, that Mytilene had 
capitulated a week before he arrived, and 1,000 prisoners had 
been sent to Athens to stand their trial. There was a warm 
debate in the Ecclesia as to the fate of the remaining islanders, 
and on the proposition of Cleon, a man who had been forcing 
himself into prominence, it was decided that the men should 
be put to death and the rest sold as slaves. A trireme was de- 
spatched to Lesbos with this cruel sentence, but next day 
better counsels prevailed, and the sentence was revoked. A 
second trireme was now sent, and spurred on by the promise 
of great rewards, the oarsmen put forth their utmost effort and 
arrived in time to save the people. The prisoners in Athens 
were, however, executed, the fortifications of Mytilene de- 
stroyed, the fleet confiscated, and much of the land of the 
island divided amongst Athenian colonists. 

Thus far the Athenians had held faithfully to the policy 
of Pericles, and confined their warlike operations to the safe 
lines which he had marked out for them, but now that his 
restraining influence was no longer felt they began to change 
their policy, and to engage in desultory expeditions in which 
they frittered away their strength. One of these expeditions 
was to Sicily where a war was raging between the Greek 
cities. Actuated apparently by a desire to injure the corn 
trade of Corinth, the Athenians sent twenty ships to the 
island, but they achieved nothing. The precedent was un- 
fortunate, for it was followed later upon a scale and with a 
result which went far to ruin Athens. 

In the sixth year after the beginning of the war there 

426. were earthquakes in Peloponnesus, and the Spartans, being 
very superstitious, refrained from invading Attica that year ; 
but unhappily there was a return of the plague, and 



THE DEFENSIVE POLICY ABANDONED 441 

although it was milder than on the former occasion, yet it 
caused much misery. The same year Demosthenes, a general, 
not the orator of later date, was sent with an armament to 
Acarnania for the purpose of besieging the city of Leucas. 
Instead of carrying out orders, he invaded iEtolia and was 
severely defeated. Afraid to return to Athens he tried to 
retrieve his reputation by some daring deed, and when the 
Spartans and Ambraciots attacked Acarnania soon after, he 
defeated them, slaying two Spartan generals. He sent word 
to the Spartans who were left that if they liked to depart he 
would not prevent them, and they fled, faithlessly leaving 
their Ambraciot allies, who, thus deserted, were again defeated 
with great slaughter. Worse still, a reinforcement which 
came up, not aware of what had happened, was likewise cut 
to pieces. It is pathetically related that the herald from the 
first body came to make the usual request of the vanquished 
for leave to bury their dead, and was asked how many 
dead he thought he would have to bury. Unaware of the 
fate of the others he said, "About two hundred," whereupon 
he was led to the second battlefield and saw the dead 
in heaps, when with a lamentable cry he turned and went 
away. In a day or two 6,000 Ambraciots had been slain and 
the city was left defenceless. This expedition had therefore 
ended successfully for the Athenians, but it had no direct 
bearing upon the issue of the war and it would have been 
better for them had they never undertaken it. 

Next year Demosthenes distinguished himself in a way 425. 
which might have been of the greatest advantage to Athens, 
had wise counsels prevailed amongst her statesmen. 

An expedition proceeding towards Sicily lay windbound 
at Pylos in Messenia, now better known as Navarino. 
Demosthenes was with the expedition, and perceiving that 
Pylos was an almost impregnable position, he conceived the 
idea of making it a base of operations against Sparta, and 
remained there with a few vessels and a detachment after the 
rest of the fleet had gone. The Spartans, hearing exaggerated 



442 GEEECE 

rumours concerning the number of Athenians who had landed, 
hastily recalled their army from Attica and sent a force both 
naval and military to dislodge Demosthenes. His force had 
been supplemented by Messenian volunteers so that he had 
about 1,000 men and was well fortified ; and when the Spartans 
came up he sent two swift triremes after the fleet to tell the 
admiral what was happening and beg him to return. 

The Spartans got there first and began the attack. The 
bay of Pylos has a promontory at either end, and Demos- 
thenes had turned the most northern of these into a formid- 
able stronghold. Fronting the bay and stretching nearly 
the whole way across with only narrow entrances between 
it and the promontories, lies the island of Sphacteria, little 
more than a long bare rock. When the Spartans arrived 
they encamped on the mainland, took possession of Sphacteria 
with 400 soldiers and anchored their ships in the bay. They 
then attacked Demosthenes with vigour, but he held his own 
until the Athenian fleet returned, sailed into the basin and 
defeated the Spartan fleet. The troops on Sphacteria were 
thus caught in a trap, and it happened that amongst them 
were many members of the Spartan aristocracy. News hav- 
ing been sent to Sparta of the dangerous position in which 
the men were placed, the Ephors came and, seeing no way 
out of the difficulty, begged for peace. Ambassadors were 
accordingly sent to Athens, and an offer made to return to 
the status quo ante helium. Had Pericles been at the head 
of affairs in Athens this proposal would assuredly have been 
accepted. By such a peace Athens would have been left in a 
proud position, seeing that she had proved her ability to with- 
stand for six years the united forces of her enemies, and had 
emerged from the contest as strong as ever. Unfortunately 
Pericles had passed away, and Cleon, who led the ultra-patriotic 
party, urged that advantage should be taken of the op- 
portunity to press harder terms upon Sparta. The peace 
negotiations were, therefore, broken off, and at last, though 
not without much trouble, the soldiers on Sphacteria were 



THE DEFENSIVE POLICY ABANDONED 443 

captured and carried to Athens. There the Spartans renewed 
negotiations, but Cleon and his friends were more exacting than 
ever, and peace was again refused. This was a fatal mistake, for 425. 
the circumstances were the most favourable that had occurred 
to Athens during the war. Never again had she such a chance 
of an honourable and lasting peace. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

NICIAS, CLEON, ALCIBIADES. 

Nicias and Cleon were now the leading politicians in Athens. 
Nicias was rich, and had a character for prudence which won 
him respect, and during the early part of his career, when he 
was opposing Cleon and Alcibiades in the interests of peace, 
he seemed the good genius of his country. But he proved to 
be, after all, a man of very moderate ability, and did the city 
a terrible injury in the end. 

Cleon came from the middle class, and being a ready 
speaker, gained much influence — especially after the death of 
Pericles. His character has been derided by Aristophanes 
and Thucydides, but as they were swayed by personal 
animosity their estimates cannot be accepted, especially when 
we remember that Aristophanes derided Socrates in much the 
same way. There is, however, enough independent evidence 
to make it clear that Cleon, on several occasions, led the 
Athenians far astray. He proposed the massacre of the in- 
habitants of Mytilene; persuaded the Athenians to refuse 
peace when Demosthenes had a temporary success at Pylos ; 
and afterwards, when the Spartan soldiers had been brought 
as prisoners from the island, he again refused peace. It is to 
be remembered, of course, that the Athenians were elated by 
their victory, and could not foresee the disasters which followed, 
yet their leaders should have been more wise and have erred 
on the side of safety. 
424. So pleased were the Athenians with the success of the 

Sphacterian venture, that in the eighth year of the war they 

planned a yet more pronounced departure from the conser- 

(444) 



: 



NICIAS, CLEON, ALCIBIADES 445 

vative policy recommended by Pericles. Early in the year 
Nicias captured the island of Cythera which lay directly 
opposite the gulf of Laconia, from which as a base they could 
ravage the Peloponnesian coast at will, and were almost 
within striking distance of Sparta itself. So alarmed were 
the Spartans with this new venture, and so fearful lest it 
should lead to a rising of the Helots, that they took the cruel 
precaution of assassinating the most prominent of these to the 
number of about two thousand. 

Having been successful against Sphacteria and Cythera, 
the Athenians next undertook an expedition against Megara. 
Acting in conjunction with partisans in the city, they got within 
the long walls which connected it with Nisaea, its seaport, and 
gained possession of Nissea itself, but could not capture Megara. 

After this exploit they arranged a scheme by which Boeotia 424. 
was to be overrun by two armies, Demosthenes marching from 
the west, Hippocrates from the east, whilst insurrections 
were to be fomented in various cities at the same time. But 
the scheme failed. Demosthenes, on landing in the Corinthian 
Gulf, found that their plans had been betrayed, and had 
to re-embark. The Boeotian army waited until he departed, 
and then marching eastward completely routed Hippocrates 
at Delium — 1,000 Athenians being slain, amongst whom was 
Hippocrates himself. Both Socrates and Alcibiades took part 
in this battle. 

Serious though the disaster at Delium was, worse happened 
in the north. With the view of stirring up a revolt in the 
Delian confederacy, the Spartans had sent Brasidas, their 
smartest general, to the Chalcidian peninsula, where Athens 
had many enemies. He was at once successful, capturing 
Amphipolis, owing, the Athenians believed, to the supine- 423. 
ness of Thucydides, their commander there, who arrived 
with his forces a few hours too late. For this Thucydides 
was prosecuted at Athens and banished. He spent the next 
twenty years of his life in exile, and it was during this 
period that he wrote his famous history. 



446 GEEECE 

The loss of Amphipolis was only the beginning of evils, 
for Brasidas marched through the peninsula, and induced many- 
other cities to break off from the confederacy. The disasters 
in Bceotia and in the Chalcidian peninsula brought the 
Athenians to their senses, and they regretted that they had 
not made peace whilst there was opportunity. Accordingly 
when Sparta once more approached them they agreed upon 
a year's truce in order that time might be given for the settle- 
ment of a permanent peace. 

Unfortunately, before knowledge of the armistice had 
reached the Chalcidian peninsula two other cities, Scione 
and Mende, revolted. The Athenians determined to reconquer 
these, and an expedition was sent under Nicias which re- 

422. covered Mende. When the year's truce expired, the peace 
with Sparta had not been arranged, and Cleon took command 
in Chalcidice. He was successful for a time, recovering Torone 
and Galepsus, but when attacking Amphipolis he was caught 
in a sortie and slain. In the same battle fell Brasidas, and 
the fall of these men made it easier to negotiate. Accord- 
ingly Nicias for Athens and Pleistoanax for Sparta arranged 

421. a peace nominally for fifty years, on the basis of a mutual 
restoration of prisoners and places captured during the war. 
The terms of the treaty would have been satisfactory if they 
could have been carried out, but this proved to be impossible. 
Sparta could not restore the allegiance of the revolted Chalci- 
dian towns, the most she could do was to leave Athens free 
to recapture them ; and Athens, counting this an infraction 
of the treaty, refused to surrender Cythera and Pylos. Athens 
also retained Nissea which was Megarian, and Anactorium and 
Sollium which had belonged to Corinth. There was, there- 
fore, no finality about the agreement. The allies of Sparta were 
profoundly discontented, believing that she had betrayed their 
interests, and four states — Bceotia, Corinth, Megara and Elis — 
refused to be bound by it. 

It would have been far better for Athens had she satisfied 
these states by returning to them the cities which she retained, 



NICIAS, CLEON, ALCIBIADES 447 

for they were of small benefit arid were sure to be a source of 
constant strife. She had everything to gain by peace. As a 
great trading centre, a few quiet years would have enabled 
her to distance every rival, and the cities now so rebellious 
would have found it to their interest to be on good terms 
with her, even if they did not rejoin the confederacy. Un- 
fortunately for Athens the war party was again in the 
ascendant, this time led by Alcibiades, an unscrupulous man, 
whose evil influence did not cease to operate until the city 
was ruined. 

Sparta had been more inclined towards peace because a 
thirty years' truce entered into between herself and Argos 
was drawing to an end, and she feared lest Argos might attack 
her, in which case her usual allies, being at present on un- 
friendly terms, were not unlikely to help Argos. Matters 
turned out just as Sparta had feared, for the Argives at once 
took advantage of the ending of the peace and entered into 
alliance with Mantinea, Elis and Chalcis, so that conflict 
with Sparta became imminent. Ambassadors were sent to 
Athens from the allies asking her to join them, and others 420. 
from Sparta to plead against such a course. Nicias was for 
peace, but Alcibiades, an inveterate firebrand, intrigued 
against the Spartan ambassadors so successfully that the 
assembly dismissed them, and made alliance with Argos. It 
was indeed all that Nicias could do to prevent declaration of 
war against Sparta, but a treaty with Argos at that juncture 
amounted to much the same thing. By this action Alcibiades 
did Athens a lasting injury. The defensive policy mapped 
out by Pericles had been, on the whole, sound, and though 
Athens had sometimes suffered whilst adhering to his advice, 
she had suffered still more when she departed from it. Under 
the malign influence of Alcibiades she abandoned it wholly, 
and the result was ruin. Far better for her had she kept 
out of Peloponnesian quarrels, and set herself resolutely to 
the consolidation of her own proper empire. 

The Athenians did not formally declare war against Sparta, 418. 



448 GEEECE 

but they sent a contingent to the assistance of the allies, so 
that 1,300 Athenians fought in the decisive battle of Man tinea. 
The allies were divided in counsel and were severely beaten, 
many Athenians being amongst the slain. 

The effect of the battle of Mantinea was wide spread. It 
restored Spartan prestige, and was followed by a revolution at 
Argos in favour of Sparta, and though this did not succeed, the 
Argives had received a lesson which made them less inclined 
to war with Sparta than before. Alcibiades had, therefore, 
dragged Athens into an alliance, the only fruit of which was 
the breaking out again of bitter ill-will between herself and 
Sparta with whom she was nominally at peace. 
416. Next year the Athenians attacked Melos, an island which 

had lapsed from the confederacy and was endeavouring to 
maintain autonomy. The islanders refusing to submit were 
defeated, and treated with great barbarity — the men being 
killed, the women and children sold into slavery. This was an 
atrocious crime, and shows how greatly the Athenian character 
had degenerated under the influence of constant war. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE SICILIAN MADNESS. 

We come now to the crowning act of Athenian folly. The 
island of Sicily, or Trinacria as it was called from its triangular 
shape, had been colonised by Greeks at an early period, 
and had many important cities, of which Syracuse was chief. 

These Sicilian colonists were mostly of Peloponnesian 
origin, and Sparta had even asked them for help against 
Athens during the war, but without result. A few of the 
cities, however, were of Athenian origin, and as time went on 
a feeling of partisanship was awakened, but the Athenian 
cities being in a minority had little power. The Athenians 
had interfered in the affairs of the cities, and had even sent 427. 
an expedition to the help of their sympathisers, but it did no 
good to Athenian influence, for the Sicilians came to the con- 
clusion that they had more to fear from Athens than from 
one another, and having made peace amongst themselves, 
they requested the Athenians to withdraw. 

Some years later war broke out between Selinus and 417. 

Segesta, cities in the west of Sicily, and when Selinus obtained 

help from Syracuse, Segesta sought it from Athens. Nicias 

and Alcibiades were now the leaders in Athens, and the latter 

warmly espoused the cause of the Segestans, whilst the former 

opposed it. As a matter of fact even the war party amongst 

the Athenians cared nothing for Segesta ; they merely wanted 

a pretext for gaining entrance into Sicily and extending 

the empire. Accordingly commissioners were sent to make 416. 

inquiry, and especially to discover whether the Segestans 

were rich enough to pay the expenses of the war, should the 
29 (449) 



450 GEEECE 

Athenians undertake it on their behalf. The commissioners, 
deceived and probably bribed, brought back glowing accounts, 
and the Athenians went wild on the subject. Nicias opposed 
the war spirit in vain, the party led by Alcibiades carried the 
day, and the Athenians threw all their energies into the 
preparation of a huge expedition. Amidst the general blind- 
ness, some men had clearness of vision, amongst these being 
Socrates — now at the height of his fame. 

Three generals were appointed to command the expedition, 
Nicias, Alcibiades and Lamachus. Nicias was honest but in- 
capable. Lamachus had capacity, but being a poor man was 
easily overruled. Alcibiades was a scoundrel. 

Just before the departure of the expedition an ugly incident 
happened. In the streets of Athens there were many pillar 
busts of Hermes, the special patron of the democracy, and one 
morning these were found to be disfigured and broken. The 
mutilation which was effected in one night must have been 
the work of several persons ; and as much excitement was 
created as might be expected in a continental town if the 
numerous images of the Virgin were suddenly defaced. The 
authors of the outrage were not discovered, but Alcibiades was 
suspected though there was no apparent reason why he should 
415. perpetrate such a deed. No formal accusation, however, was 
made, and the expedition sailed for the land of El Dorado. It 
went by way of Corcyra, and when it left that island mustered 
134 battle ships and 500 transports, with many thousands of 
soldiers and sailors on board. 

Touching first at the seaports in the south of Italy the 
fleet was coldly received, for the colonists knew that so great 
an expedition must contemplate wide conquest, and guessed 
that if Sicily were conquered, Magna Grsecia would soon follow. 
Apart from this, they told the admirals that they had been 
utterly misled by the Segestans, and that these could not 
afford any substantial help, a fact which was soon verified 
by the scouts. Under these changed circumstances the fleet 
should have returned, and for this Nicias pleaded, but the 



THE SICILIAN MADNESS 451 

others, knowing that the succour of Segesta was but a pretext, 
and that the conquest of Sicily was the true object of the 
expedition, overruled him. Lamachus advised that Syracuse 
should be at once attacked, and this was certainly the wisest 
course if they were to remain. Had they attacked Syracuse 
at once it would probably have fallen, and as it was the key 
of the island the expedition would have been successful. But 
Alcibiades opposed this plan also, and advised that they should 
visit the Sicilian towns in turn, seeking allies. This policy of 
delay was adopted, and proved suicidal. The dread inspired 
by the expedition in Sicily passed away, the vessels deterior- 
ated, the sailors, many of whom were slaves, deserted, and 
Syracuse had time to fortify. Whilst matters stood thus, 
Alcibiades was summoned home to stand his trial in connection 
with the mutilation of the Hermae. He made a pretence of 
returning, but escaped to Italy, and from thence to Sparta ; 
where, turning traitor, he directed all his energy towards 
ruining the city which had given him birth. 

The autumn passed without any action of consequence, 
and during the winter the fleet lay comparatively idle. Mean- 
while the Syracusans fortified their city and sent to Sparta 
for aid. Alcibiades, who was in Sparta when the embassy 
arrived, persuaded the Spartans to accede to their request 
and showed them how they could attack the Athenians to the 
greatest advantage. In accordance with his advice they sent 414. 
Gylippus with a detachment and orders to land in the island, 
collect troops and relieve Syracuse. In the spring the 
Athenian army bestirred itself, and the siege of Syracuse was 
fairly begun, but Lamachus was slain in an early engagement, 
and the soldiers were left under the command of Nicias, a 
man who detested the expedition, and was both incompetent 
and in feeble health. 

The Athenians proceeded to blockade Syracuse, but while 
one part of the city was still open, Gylippus arrived and 
entered with a considerable force. Inspired by his opportune 
arrival the Syracusans took the offensive, and Nicias became 



452 GEEECE 

besieged rather than besieger. He now recognised the hopeless- 
ness of his task, and had he been strong minded would have 
sailed home. As it was he only wrote lugubrious letters to 
Athens begging to be recalled. Instead of recalling him the 
Athenians, who of course could not realise the hopelessness of 
413. the case, sent reinforcements under Demosthenes, now their 
most able general. Before he arrived there had been a naval 
battle ; and the Athenian fleet, heavily beaten, was penned up 
on shore under the protection of the land army, but his arrival 
somewhat restored the balance of power and the whole force 
could have been easily withdrawn. Demosthenes determined 
to make one final effort, and to let its success or failure decide 
his future course. He made, therefore, a night attack upon 
Syracuse, and when the attack ended in disastrous failure, he 
resolved to return at once to Athens. But Nicias, formerly so 
anxious to return, now took a fit of obstinacy and wanted to 
remain. At last, however, he consented to depart, and the 
order to sail was given. Had the order been carried out, the 
Athenian armament, sorely needed now at home, would have 
been saved. But that night there was an eclipse of the moon, 
and Nicias, full of superstition, asked the astrologers their 
opinion, and was advised to postpone his departure for a 
month. By that time the Syracusans knew of the pre- 
meditated flight, and made the most determined efforts to 
annihilate their enemy. Accordingly the harbour was block- 
aded, and it became necessary to struggle in fierce battle for 
that which a month before was freely at their command. 
The battle was fought with desperation, but the Athenians 
could not manoeuvre in the harbour in their wonted fashion, 
and were completely beaten. Demosthenes and Nicias pleaded 
for a renewal of the struggle in the morning, but the men 
refused to fight, and the desperate alternative of a retreat by 
land had to be faced. This gave Nicias one last chance 
to display his imbecility. Instead of retreating instantly and 
getting the start of the Syracusans, he spent two days in 
packing up, so that when the retreat began the passes were 






THE SICILIAN MADNESS 453 

occupied, and on every side enemies, both horse and foot, 
blocked the way. The awful misery of the retreat baffles 
description, but it did not last long, for in a day or two the 
wretches, reduced from 40,000 to a mere handful, surrendered. 
The survivors were treated with barbarity, and those who did 
not die under the treatment were sold as slaves. Demosthenes 
and Nicias were condemned to death ; and when Gylippus, the 
Spartan general, found that he could not prevent the Syracusans 
from carrying the sentence into effect, he is said to have saved 
the Athenian leaders the indignity and torture of a public 
execution by sending them the means of putting an end to 
their lives by their own hands. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

ATHENS IN DECLINE. 

413. The news of the terrible catastrophe in Sicily did not reach 
Athens for some time. It reached Sparta and Corinth first, 
and was brought to Athens by a sailor who entered a barber's 
shop in Piraeus and spoke about it as if it were common know- 
ledge. At first it was not credited, but when the sad truth 
was realised, the affliction of the Athenians was indescribable. 
Had Sparta attacked Athens promptly, the city might have 
fallen an easy prey, but she delayed, and Athens had time to 
shake off her stupor and brace herself for further effort. 

The condition of the city was indeed deplorable. Two- 
thirds of her fleet and the best part of her army had been 
destroyed, her treasury was drained, her enemies were sure 
to redouble their efforts. Those who had been neutral now 
turned against her, allies fell away, all believing her doom 
sealed, and that a few months would see the city captured. 

Eubcea, Lesbos and Chios sent messengers to the Spartans 
asking for help to enable them to revolt, and Tissaphernes and 
Pharnabazus prepared to divide between them the cities of the 
Asiatic Greeks. 

It added to the misery of the Athenians that Alcibiades 

had advised the Spartans to establish a fortress in Attica 

itself and to make it a centre for marauding expeditions. 

This they had done at Decelea and now Attica had no rest. 

No part of the country was safe, agricultural operations were 

wholly at a standstill, thousands of Athenian slaves escaped 

to the Spartan post, and the citizens had to mount guard 

(454) 



ATHENS IN DECLINE 455 

continually. From all sides the vultures gathered — waiting 
for the end. 

There were in most Athenian dependencies two parties, the 
republican and the oligarchic, and the oligarchs now raised 
their heads in every city ; while the republicans, depressed and 
alarmed, dared not resist. Island after island fell away — 
Chios, Miletus and Lesbos. Samos would have followed 
their example had not the republicans taken time by the fore- 
lock and risen first. Athens was thus able to use this im- 
portant island as a military base, and in recognition of its 
faithfulness made it a free and equal ally. 

Meanwhile the Spartans had made overtures to the Persians, 412. 
and Tissaphernes, the satrap of the central portion of Asia 
Minor, promised to supply funds and ships wherewith to crush 
Athens on condition that Persia should have the cities of the 
Asiatic Greeks. But Athens did not succumb so easily as 
her enemies expected, illustrating the truth that a republic, 
often careless under prosperity, is seen at its best in the time 
of adversity. The year spent by her enemies preparing 
for her destruction gave her a breathing space. Her people, 
chastened by affliction, closed up their ranks, and aided by a 
reserve fund which Pericles had laid up and by dint of 
much self-denial, built a new fleet, small indeed but by 
no means contemptible. Unfortunately, the efforts of the 
oligarchic factions in the subject cities went on apace; many 
had already revolted, and it looked as if the empire must 
quickly dissolve. 

About this time Alcibiades provided a diversion. He had 
tired of the Spartans and they of him, and when he was 
in Asia Minor they endeavoured to have him assassinated. 
Warned of this, and realising that there was no future for 
him in Sparta, he fled to Tissaphernes, who protected him for 411. 
a time. He pointed out to the satrap that it might not be 
best for Persia that Athens should be entirely crushed, and 
Sparta unduly exalted, but that the truer policy would be to 
prolong the struggle until both combatants were exhausted. 



456 GEBECE 

This advice commended itself to Tissaphernes, who showed 
less zeal in his support of Sparta, and kept her fleet idle. But 
he was not specially enamoured of Alcibiades, and seeing this, 
the latter determined to make friends with Athens again if 
he could. As he was an oligarch at heart the best way seemed 
to be through the medium of an oligarchic restoration, and he 
accordingly wrote to officers of the army at Samos and stated 
that if an oligarchy was re-established at Athens, he could 
obtain for them an alliance with Persia. The time was 
favourable for such a scheme. The republic had acted 
unwisely in many ways, and there were many who thought 
that an oligarchy would have done better. Accordingly, whilst 
the matter was kept from the knowledge of the rank and file, 
a deputation of officers headed by Peisander went to Athens 
and laid the proposals of Alcibiades before the Ecclesia. They 
met with much opposition, but the desperate condition of 
affairs was realised, and ten commissioners were sent with 
Peisander to Asia to ascertain how far Tissaphernes was will- 
ing to go. They found that he would not go far. If he did 
not mean to help Sparta, he certainly had no thought of help- 
ing Athens, the most he would do was to remain neutral. 
One thing was clear, that Alcibiades had none of the influence 
with the satrap to which he had pretended. The oligarchs, 
therefore, determined to have nothing more to do with Alcibiades, 
but they organised a revolution in Athens just the same. The 
way for the revolution was paved by the assassination of 
leading democrats ; and when the city was in a state of terror, 
a packed meeting of the assembly agreed to abolish the 
republic, and to substitute government by 400 members 
of the aristocracy. In order to give a popular tone to the 
new constitution, the 400 were to have the power of sum- 
moning a further body of 5,000, but no attempt was made 
to give effect to this part of the scheme. 
411, Having cleared the Senate House by force of arms and 

made their position more sure by murdering their enemies, 
the oligarchs sent to King Agis at Decelea, told him what had 



ATHENS IN DECLINE 457 

happened, and said that they were prepared to treat for peace. 
For once the Spartans acted promptly, for the king, thinking 
the opportunity golden, marched upon Athens ; but the Athe- 
nians were too quick for him, and he had to retire with loss. 
Meanwhile the Athenian soldiers at Samos heard what the 
oligarchs had done, and in great wrath rose upon their 
officers, deposed all who favoured oligarchy and gave the 
command to Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus, two well-known 
republicans. They went still farther ; for when Alcibiades, who 
had now broken with the oligarchy, professed his willingness 
to get Tissaphernes to help the republic, they elected him as 
third general. 

The oligarchs had seized the reins of government, but did 
not find it easy to govern. They were disunited, for some 
thought that they should govern the city entirely by the strong 
hand ; whilst others, seeing that the only hope of permanence 
lay in giving satisfaction to the governed, advised that the 
assembly of 5,000, which had been promised, should be 
created. At first these liberal proposals were scouted, but 
when the envoys who had gone to Samos returned and re- 
ported the state of affairs in the army, the popular party 
became more resolute. The oligarchs, seeing their power 
slipping away, began to build a fort at Piraeus to dominate 
the harbour mouth, and sent messengers to the Spartans 
offering to give them possession ; but the Spartans fearing 
treachery delayed, and the patriotic citizens becoming sus- 
picious, rose against the oligarchs, killed their leader, and 
tore down the fort. When, therefore, the Spartan fleet 
arrived and found the fort destroyed and their chief supporter 
slain, they turned and sailed to Euboea. The Athenians chased 
them with such vessels as they could gather, but their fleet 
being insufficient for such an undertaking, they were badly 
beaten, and the Euboeans, encouraged by the defeat, revolted 411. 
throughout the island. 

The revolt of Eubcea was a heavy blow to Athens, for 
since the occupation of Attica by Sparta, the Athenians had 



458 GEEECE 

kept their cattle in the island, and it was really essential to 
their existence. If now they could neither grow food in 
Attica nor store it in Euboea, they must depend upon supplies 
from abroad, and as they had largely lost control of the sea, 
the end drew near. Just as the losses at Syracuse were laid 
at the door of the republic, so the loss of Euboea was visited 
on the oligarchy, and the citizens, rising with one accord, 
thrust them from power. A few of the leaders were captured 
and executed, while the majority escaped and found refuge 
in the states which were hostile to Athens. 

But just when the day seemed darkest a gleam of bright- 
ness came. Mindarus, the Spartan admiral, having been kept 
idle for months by Tissaphernes, determined to try whether 
Pharnabazus would help him more freely, and sailed to the 
Hellespont. The Athenian admirals, knowing that control 
of the Hellespont was imperative if Athens was not to be 
starved, set out after him with all speed and defeated him 

410. twice. In the spring, having been reinforced, Mindarus 
attempted to escape, but was attacked at Cyzicus and routed 
both on land and sea. So much affected were the Spartans 

409. by these defeats that they sent an ambassador to Athens to 
treat for peace, offering to evacuate Decelea, other things to be 
left as they were. But the Athenians refused to treat, seeing 
a chance of recovering lost ground, and although the refusal 
was unwise it was not unnatural. Indeed the events that 
immediately followed seemed to justify their decision, for the 
revolted towns on the Bosphorus were recaptured, and the 
passage to the Black Sea kept so clear that corn came in 
abundance. As a result Pharnabazus, who was bearing the 
expense of the war, lost heart and began to wonder whether 
Athens might not be a more profitable ally than Sparta. At 
this juncture, however, circumstances occurred which com- 
pletely changed the aspect of affairs. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

ATHENS IN THE DUST. 

The Athenian fleet in the Hellespont had been commanded by 
Alcibiades, who had done such good service that he thought 408. 
he might now venture to return to his native city. He was 
well received, readmitted to citizenship, confirmed as general, 
and sent back to Asia with an expedition. But when he 
arrived there he found that important changes had taken 
place, for the Spartans had sent Lysander to command their 
fleet, and Darius had sent his younger son Cyrus to be satrap. 
Cyrus was young and energetic, and his arrival was a sign 
that the half-hearted policy of Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus 
was to end, and that Athens was to be crushed. As soon as 
Cyrus reached his province he sent for Lysander and told him 
that money was not to be stinted, and that he might build 
ships and engage mercenaries at will. Thus supported, Lysan- 
der was speedily successful against Alcibiades, who, acting 407. 
negligently, again lost the confidence of the Athenians and 
was superseded, Conon and the strategi taking his place. At 
the end of a year the Spartans changed their leader in the 
usual way, sending Callicratidas in the place of Lysander. 
Cyrus was displeased at the change and withdrew his support, 
but Callicratidas was an able general and blockaded the 
Athenian fleet in Mytilene. Conon managed to get the news 
through to Athens, and a prodigious effort was made to relieve 
him. In a short time 150 ships were sent, and in a battle at 406. 
Arginusse the Spartan fleet was destroyed and Callicratidas 
drowned. The rejoicing at Athens was marred by the fact 

that through an oversight twelve Athenian vessels were 

(459) 



460 GEEECE 

allowed to founder with their crews. The strategi were re- 
called to answer for this neglect, and six who obeyed the 
summons were most unjustly condemned and executed. It 
is interesting to notice that Socrates protested against the 
illegality of these proceedings by which Athens deprived her- 
self of six leading officers at a time when she stood sorely in 
need of men. 

The victory of Arginusse did Athens little good, for 
Callicratidas, the Spartan admiral who was now dead, had 
detested the alliance between Sparta and Persia, and ex- 
pressed his determination to make peace with Athens at the 
earliest opportunity. Lysander, who preceded and again suc- 
ceeded him, was a man of a different type. He hated Athens, 
and cared not what weapon he might use in her discomfiture. 
Being a favourite with Cyrus he soon gathered another fleet 
and was in a position to take active measures. Cautiously 
avoiding a general engagement he sailed to the Hellespont to 
intercept the Athenian corn ships, and having captured Lamp- 
sacus on the Asiatic shore, made that his headquarters ; whilst 
405. the Athenians, following him with 180 vessels, lay opposite at 
iEgospotami. As the Athenians believed themselves more 
powerful than Lysander they took little care, and when he 
declined combat day after day they got into the habit of 
disembarking and dispersing in search of food. Lysander 
heard of their want of caution, and one day, after receiving a 
signal that the men had landed as usual, he crossed swiftly 
and captured almost the entire fleet. Conon, the Athenian 
admiral, escaped with a few ships, but fearing to return to 
Athens took service with the king of Cyprus. 

When the news of this terrible disaster reached Athens, 
the people were in despair. The fortifications were manned, 
but it was clear to all that resistance was no longer possible. 
They had lost Euboea, Attica was overrun by the enemy, their 
fleet was gone, Lysander was master of the sea, no ships could 
approach with food, and surrender could at the best be but a 
question of a few months. Knowing this Lysander made no 



ATHENS IN THE DUST 461 

haste. Sailing round leisurely he summoned the Athenian 
garrisons, and as soon as they capitulated sent them to Athens 
to swell the general misery. Ally after ally fell off, until of 
the great Athenian empire only Samos remained loyal, nor 
did she capitulate until Athens herself had fallen. 

At length Lysander appeared before Piraeus, whilst Agis, 
the Spartan king, blockaded Athens on the landward side. 
The city held out for a time, but in four months was forced 404. 
by famine to surrender. The Corinthians and Thebans wished 
to destroy it utterly ; but the Spartans, believing that Athens 
might be useful as a dependency, refused to adopt extreme 
measures, and peace was made on terms which, considering 
the melancholy circumstances, were not unreasonable. The 
long walls and fortifications were demolished, foreign posses- 
sions given up, ships of war surrendered, all exiles readmitted, 
and Athens became a subject ally of Sparta, furnishing her 
with a contingent of troops when called upon. Thus ended 
the Peloponnesian war, after it had lasted for twenty-seven 
years, and thus for a time at least ended the Athenian Empire. 

When Lysander entered Athens there came in his train 
many of the Four Hundred who had fled from the city when 
the oligarchy was deposed and who now saw their opportunity. 
Amongst these the leading spirit was Critias, a clever but 
unprincipled man. 

With the help of Lysander and a Spartan garrison, a 
committee of thirty was appointed to govern the city, the 
Dicasteries and Ecclesia were abolished, and the Senate 
purged of all who favoured the republic. Then began a reign 
of terror, assassination and plunder. Hundreds of citizens 
were put to death without trial, and none who had either 
republican leanings or wealth were safe. 

The tyrants endeavoured to implicate as many as possible 
in their deeds by compelling respectable citizens to accompany 
their officers when they went to arrest their victims, and on 
one of these occasions they endeavoured to impress Socrates, 
but he flatly refused, though at the risk of his life. This 



462 GEEECE 

tyranny went on until about 1,500 had been put to death and 
large numbers exiled. It might have gone on longer, but that 
the position of Sparta had changed even in a few months. 
The states which, in alliance with her, had fought for twenty- 
seven years to ruin Athens and make Sparta supreme, began 
to see the folly of their conduct. Sparta had pretended to 
fight the battle of autonomy on behalf of the Greek cities, but 
they found that now that she herself had the power, she ruled 
with a rod of iron. Instead of gaining the autonomy for 
which they had striven, the cities found themselves under 
oligarchies supported by Spartan governors and garrisons, 
ruling with a severity compared with which the rule of 
Athens had been mildness itself. The oligarchy in Athens by 
its cruel and suicidal methods speedily alienated all classes of 
the people, and so many had been driven out of the city that 
the exiles formed a considerable band. Some of these gathered 
under Thrasybulus and made a descent upon Attica, seizing 
Phyle, a small fortress fifteen miles north of the capital. The 
oligarchs sent troops against them, but they were defeated, and 
this early success encouraged others to join the patriotic band. 
Thus strengthened, Thrasybulus descended on Piraeus suddenly, 
and occupied a temple. Here he was attacked by Critias but 
was again successful, Critias being slain. The oligarchs, now 
at their wits end, appealed to Sparta for help, and a Spartan 
army was sent, but Lysander and his methods had become 
unpopular in Sparta itself, so that he was not entrusted with 
the command, and King Pausanias who led the army deter- 
mined to pacify the city by restoring the republic. 

Before the restoration Alcibiades was dead. On being 
superseded as admiral by the Athenians he retired to Cher- 
sonesus, and was near iEgospotami at the time of the great 
disaster, and indeed warned the Athenian captains of the risk 
they were running by their carelessness. After the battle he 
took refuge with Pharnabazus, but was assassinated, apparently 
in private revenge for evil he had wrought whilst living in 
Sparta. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

SOCRATES. 

In a world peopled by imperfect men no form of government 
works perfectly, and like other systems republicanism has 
its faults. But it has this advantage, that a greater number 
of people are induced to interest themselves in public affairs, 
and therefore there is a tendency for the citizens to reach 
a higher intellectual average than can be looked for under 
autocratic rule. The history of Athens during the period 
of which we have been speaking illustrates this truth. 
During the republican century of the city, lying between the 
reforms of Cleisthenes and the fall of her empire, although 
her political career was chequered, her intellectual life pros- 
pered. Many of the men whose writings are still looked 
upon as supplying the best foundation for culture took part 
in the incidents we have been recounting and shall hereafter 
recount. iEschylus, the founder of the tragic drama, fought at 
Marathon and Salamis ; Sophocles was a general in the days of 
Pericles ; Euripides, of whose writings so much yet remains, 
died just before ^Egospotami ; and Aristophanes, the writer of 
comedy, was contemporary with the Peloponnesian war, against 
which he justly inveighed. The development of the drama was 
helped by the fact that it was a national institution — plays 
being performed publicly, and prizes given by the city for the 
best. But intellectual development was by no means confined 
to the drama. The opportunities for speaking afforded by 
the public assemblies and courts of justice produced rhetori- 
cians and dialecticians of a high order. Freedom of speech 

was tolerated in Athens in a way hardly paralleled even in 

(463) 



464 GBEECE 

modern states, and great mental activity was the result. 
In no other city was the average intellectual attainment 
of the citizens so high, and from this higher level there 
arose intellectual giants who left an indelible mark on the 
world. 

Amongst Athenians none surpassed Socrates either in in- 
469. tellectual greatness or moral worth. He was born at Athens,, 
was the son of a sculptor and had himself modelled success- 
fully. He had served the state in the Peloponnesian war, and 
shown courage and endurance of a high order. His heart 
was, however, chiefly in philosophy, and at last he gave 
up his life to teaching in the public places, willingly and even 
gratuitously instructing all who came. He left no writings, 
so that we gain our knowledge of him through the works of 
others, and especially through the writings of Xenophon and 
Plato, two of his pupils. 

Socrates' method was conversational, and his aim seems to 
have been to awaken and train the moral consciousness of 
those whom he taught. As a preliminary to the acquisition 
of knowledge he taught humility, and for this reason his 
method, though appreciated by earnest seekers after truth, 
was intolerable to men who were wise in their own conceits. 
Affecting ignorance of the subject, and assuming the position 
of a disciple, Socrates asked questions, at first apparently 
innocent, but which gradually led his antagonist on until he 
was landed in contradiction and confusion. 

If men were willing to learn, Socrates could teach them 
much, discoursing with rare wisdom on many subjects, tem- 
perance, self-control, piety, brotherly love, and the like. He 
was not like many professed philosophers, a mere guesser at 
things beyond his reach, he had the true missionary spirit, 
and sought to direct the mind to higher things. His concep- 
tions of the Deity, his trust in His goodness, his far-seeing 
thoughts concerning Eternity were not of man. He implicitly 
believed that he was guided by a divine spirit, and we need 
not doubt but that God who is no respecter of persons, but 



SOCKATES 465 

accepts in every nation those who fear Him and work 
righteousness, accepted and used the rugged old Athenian. 

Socrates' work as a teacher extended over thirty years. He 
made many friends by his great qualities, and many enemies 
by his plain speaking. Twice we know that he risked his 
life by taking a stand against the authority for the time 
being. When the six generals were being tried unjustly after 406. 
the battle of Arginusse, Socrates was the only one of the 
Prytanes who refused to consent to the trial, although by thus 
opposing the people he ran great personal risk. Again, during 
the reign of terror, when the thirty tyrants were in power and 
trying to implicate the citizens in their misdeeds, they sent 
for Socrates and four others and ordered them to fetch Leon, 
an excellent man, from Salamis, that they might put him to 
death. "There again," said Socrates afterwards, "I showed 
not by word but by deed, that I care for death not a jot, but 
that to avoid doing anything unjust or unholy, this, I say, is 
all my care. For that Government, for all its rigour, did not 
dismay me into doing anything unjust, but when we came 
out of the Deme, although the four others went off to Salamis 
to fetch Leon, I went off home. And perhaps I might have 
been put to death for this if the Government had not been 
dissolved a short time afterwards." 

In the midst of the strife of parties, and the great struggle 
between oligarchy and democracy, Socrates kept a straight 
path, pleading on behalf of righteousness and against injustice 
wherever they appeared. As a consequence he had friends 
and enemies in both camps. The thirty tyrants, of whom 
Critias was leader, persecuted him, and even issued a decree 
which was specially levelled at him, forbidding the teaching 
of the art of oratory. On the other hand, after the 
oligarchy had been deposed, and its members banished, the 
leaders of the republic were unfavourably disposed towards 
him because he was not wholly sympathetic towards their 
government, and because some of his friends and students had 
been members of the oligarchy. At length three men, who 

30 



466 GEEECE 

thought they had special grounds of grievance, laid an indict- 
ment against him, declaring that he did not honour the gods 
whom the city worshipped, and that he misled the young men 
by his teaching. 

The dicastery which tried him numbered about 600, and 
the trial was conducted fairly enough, but Socrates did not 
defend himself as one who cared to be acquitted. He was 
seventy years of age and perhaps thought that it would be 
better that he should die before old age enfeebled his powers. 
In any case he did not fear death, and would not belie the 
rugged independence of his life by whining for mercy. His 
" apologjT-," therefore, was not of a nature calculated to soothe, 
and he was found guilty, though only by five or six votes. 
By the Athenian system it was necessary for the accusers, 
after a conviction, to propose a penalty, for the accused to 
propose an alternative, and for the jury to decide between 
them. In the case of Socrates the accusers demanded the 
death penalty, which was manifestly too severe, and had Socrates 
at once suggested a moderate fine it would have been carried. 
Instead of this he said that he thought the proper sentence 
would be that he should be maintained for the rest of his life 
at public cost in the Prytaneum, amongst those who had 
performed distinguished state service. He declared that he 
could not pay a large fine, for all the money he had would 
not amount to more than four pounds, and if they liked he 
would assess the fine at that. As for banishment he was not 
so irrational as to imagine that if his fellow countrymen could 
not bear him, foreigners would ; and a fine life he would have 
of it if he was to leave the country at his age and pass his 
time changing from city to city, getting turned out of one 
after the other. At last, his friends beseeching him to propose 
a larger fine, he said : — 

" Plato here, and Crito, and Critobulus, and Apollodorus 
bid me assess the fine at £120, and offer themselves as security. 
I assess it then at so much." 

Had he said this at once, it might have been accepted, but 



SOCEATES 467 

his former remarks, though perfectly true and wonderfully- 
characteristic of the man, had given offence, and by a larger 
though still comparatively narrow majority he was condemned 
to death. After his condemnation he briefly addressed the 
jury with consummate calmness and dignity. He could have 
escaped death just as one in battle could escape it by throwing 
up his arms and supplicating his pursuers, but he did not 
think it proper on account of mere danger to do anything 
unbecoming. He was not afraid of death. If it was a sleep, 
as some said, as one sleeps and does not even dream, what a 
gain that would be. If it was an entrance into a new life 
where one would meet with those who had gone before, what 
a, delight that would be. He was full of hope concerning 
death, and sure of this that no evil could befall a good man 
either here or hereafter. 

" And now," he said in conclusion, " it is time to depart, 
for me to die and for you to live ; but which of us is going to 
the better state is known to no one but God." 

Owing to the approach of the festival of Delos there had 
to be a delay of thirty days before the end, and during this 
time he might easily have escaped. But he said that the law 
had appointed him to die, and as a good citizen he would obey 
it. Plato has preserved for us many of his farewell words. 
During the last hours of his life he expressed his immovable 
belief in the immortality of the soul. 

When the time came for him to drink the hemlock, his 
jailor, a man doubtless made of stern enough material, pleaded 
with him not to curse him for doing his duty as so many of 
his prisoners did, and then bursting into tears withdrew. As 
he drank the fatal draught his disciples broke into lamentation, 
but he gently rebuked them, and lying down calmly awaited 
the end. It soon came, and without a struggle, and almost 
without a sigh, the great philosopher went home to God. 399. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 

The subjugation of Athens had been largely owing to the 
assistance given to Sparta by Cyrus, the younger son of 
Darius Nothus, who had been appointed by his father satrap 
of Lydia. Darius had two sons, Artaxerxes and Cyrus, and 
by right of seniority the succession belonged to the former ; 
but Cyrus, being the favourite of his mother, Queen Parysatis, 

404. hoped to obtain the crown. When, therefore, Darius died 
shortly after the battle of iEgospotami, and Artaxerxes suc- 
ceeded, Cyrus plotted against his brother's life. The plot was 
discovered, and he would have been executed but for the 
queen, at whose entreaty he was forgiven and allowed to 
return to his satrapy. Instead of showing gratitude Cyrus 
vowed vengeance, and determined to have the kingdom at 
any cost. Just then the Peloponnesian war had come to an 
end, and many Greek soldiers of fortune were out of employ- 
ment. Cyrus appreciated the military qualities of the Greeks, 
and saw how valuable they would be against his brother's 
Asiatic levies, and as he was specially popular with the 
Spartans he employed Clearchus, who had been Spartan 
governor of Byzantium, to enlist likely men, pretending that 
he only meant to use them in petty wars. At the same time 
he collected Asiatic soldiers in various centres, so that he had 
at length 13,000 Greek and 100,000 Asiatics at his command. 

401. With these he marched eastward, professing to be about to 

punish certain rebellious tribes. Of course Clearchus and 

some of the leading officers must have known the truth, 

and it is hardly likely that even the soldiers were altogether 

(468) 






THE EETEEAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND 469 

deceived, but the full truth had not been told, and when they 
at last learned it, they had gone too far to draw back, and were 
satisfied with the additional rewards which Cyrus promised. 
But Tissaphernes, the satrap, guessed his purpose and sped 
to inform Artaxerxes, who levied a great army to meet him. 

The march was accomplished without opposition until 
Cunaxa was reached, a place only a few days' journey from 
Babylon. Here the army of Artaxerxes came in sight, and a 
battle followed in which the Greeks easily routed the section 
opposed to them ; but, pursuing too far, returned to find that 
Cyrus had been slain in a rash charge made upon his brother's 
bodyguard. 

The Asiatic troops in Cyrus' army at once changed sides, 
and the Greeks were left alone in the midst of enemies — 1,500 
miles from home. Tissaphernes professed his willingness 
to serve them, but when the leading generals went to a 
conference with him they were basely massacred. The Greeks 
were now in a state of profound dejection, but Xenophon, an 
Athenian and an old disciple of Socrates, stood forward and 
by his presence of mind and stirring words so restored con- 
fidence that new generals were appointed, a bold front shown 
to the enemy, and a well-ordered retreat begun. Aware that 
they could not possibly return by the route along which they 
had come, they made for the mountains of Armenia with 
the view of reaching the Black Sea. So long as they were in 
the plains they were harassed by the Persians, but when they 
reached Armenia these fell off The march was beset with 
difficulties, and they had to face the severities of an Armenian 
winter ; nevertheless, by splendid generalship and indomitable 
courage, they at last reached the Greek city of Trebizond on 400. 
the Black Sea. But not even there did trouble end, for the 
Asiatic Greeks, dreading to have such a host of hardy adven- 
turers in their midst, showed them little kindness. When 
they reached Byzantium they were indeed treated with gross 
cruelty, the Spartan governor of that city, their own fellow- 
countryman, actually selling their sick and wounded into slavery. 



470 GEEECB 

At this time the Spartans were in alliance with Persia ; but 
fortunately for the 10,000, their policy with regard to that 
empire suddenly changed. The change was partly owing to 
the successful retreat of the men themselves, which so graphi- 
cally demonstrated the feebleness of the Persian empire, 
that the Spartans determined to utilise the knowledge for 
their aggrandisement. Accordingly they declared war against 
399. Tissaphernes, now returned to his satrapy, and Thimbron 
their general was glad to incorporate in his army as many 
of the 10,000 as would enlist. 

Xenophon went to Athens for a time, arriving there shortly 
after the death of Socrates, but becoming tired of an unevent- 
ful life he returned to Asia and joined his old comrades in 
the Spartan army. Two years later, when Thebes and Sparta 
were at war, and Athens had a contingent helping the Thebans, 
Xenophon fought at Coronea on the side of Sparta, and there- 
fore against his native city. This was unpardonable, and he 
was banished from Athens, upon which he settled in Pelo- 
ponnesus, and devoted the rest of his life to farming and 
literature. Before his death the sentence of banishment was 
revoked, and afterwards he was honoured in Athens both as 
a historian and for the genius he had shown in rescuing so 
many Greeks from such imminent peril. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE SUPREMACY OP SPARTA. 

The battle of iEgospotami broke the power of Athens, and 405. 
made Sparta supreme over the Greek cities ; but these soon 
perceived that they had not made a change for the better, 
and their love for Sparta waxed cold. This was partly 
because they no longer feared Athens, but they were also 
disgusted with the supercilious encroachments of Sparta, 
and with the wretched governments which Lysander had 
established. Filling all important offices with his personal 
friends, he set up in every city which had been subject to 
Athens an oligarchy of ten citizens with a Spartan harmost or 
governor and a Spartan garrison. These all worked hand 
in hand so that the citizens were really at the mercy of 
alien governors and garrisons, against whose tyranny there 
was no appeal. Even the tribute, which had been the chief 
cause of dispute with Athens, was increased by Sparta. 

This was the state of affairs when the Spartans declared 
war against Persia. The experiences of the 10,000 convinced 399. 
them that the Persian empire was, after all, a hollow affair, 
and that they could defy it with impunity. On the other 
hand, Artaxerxes had been provoked by the support given by 
the Spartans to Cyrus, for the 10,000 were mostly Pelopon- 
nesians, and Sparta had sent a fleet to Cilicia to co-operate. 
After Cunaxa, therefore, Tissaphernes returned to his satrapy 
with orders to show Sparta no favour, and to subdue the cities 
of the Asiatic Greeks as speedily as possible. Sparta had there- 
fore nothing more to expect from Persia, and seeing a chance 

(471) 



472 GEEEGB 

of plunder by warring against her she once more espoused 
the cause of the cities which only a few years before she had 
handed over to the Persians. 

Thimbron, to whom the Spartans first entrusted the con- 
duct of the war in Asia, achieved little, and was succeeded 
by Dercyllidas who was somewhat more successful. Then 

399. Agis, king of Sparta died, and Lysander, who had still 
much influence, put his friend Agesilaus, brother of the late 
king, upon the throne, thinking to find him a willing tool, but 
Agesilaus had more character than Lysander suspected, and 

397. proved a match for him. Being eager to fight Persia, Agesilaus 
superseded Dercyllidas in Asia Minor, Lysander accompanying 
him as chief councillor. Trying to pose before Greece as a 
second Agamemnon, Agesilaus went to Aulis, a city in Theban 
territory, to offer sacrifice before sailing, but the Theban 
cavalry appeared, threw down his altar and chased him to 
his ships — a clear proof that in Bceotia hatred of Sparta had 
conquered fear, and an insult never forgiven by Agesilaus. 

After their arrival in Asia, Agesilaus and Lysander 
quarrelled, and Lysander had to withdraw, the king appoint- 
ing him to a command on the Hellespont. Agesilaus then 
attacked Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes with so much success 
that Artaxerxes had the latter beheaded, and sent Tithraustes 
in his place. This satrap was not a whit more successful in 
the field than his predecessor, and it seemed as if Agesilaus 
would complete the conquest of Western Asia. At last 
Tithraustes, despairing of overcoming the Spartans in Asia, 
sent Timocrates across to Europe with plenty of money, and 
orders to foment rebellion amongst the states which were 
discontented with Spartan rule. 

Timocrates found his mission easy, for the feeling against 
Sparta was running high, and Thebes especially was thirsting 
for war. An opportunity soon offered. The Locrians made a 
raid on the Phocians, and when the latter appealed to Sparta 
for help, the former applied to Thebes, and war followed. 
395. The Spartans were led by Lysander and Pausanias, and 



THE SUPEEMACY OF SPARTA 473 

Lysander invaded Boeotia, and, expecting Pausanias to follow 
immediately, attacked Haliartus. But before Pausanias could 
come up, a sortie was made by the townsmen with so much 
spirit that Lysander was slain and his army dispersed. When 
Pausanias arrived next day he was so astonished that he 
made a truce and retreated to Peloponnesus without fight- 
ing, for which conduct he was impeached on his return to 
Sparta. This victory, accompanied by the death of so powerful 
an enemy as Lysander, greatly encouraged the opposition, and 
Thebes, Corinth, Argos and Athens allied themselves against 
Sparta. Such was the gravity of the situation that the 
Spartans recalled Agesilaus from Asia Minor, so that he had, 
greatly against his will, to abandon his schemes of conquest 
and return, leaving Euxenus in charge of such land forces as 
he could spare, and Peisander, his brother-in-law, in charge of 
the fleet. 

Agesilaus took the land route, and, marching by Thrace 
and Macedonia, reached Greece in thirty days ; but before he 
arrived battles had been fought between Sparta and her 
enemies both on land and sea — the Spartans having gained 
the battle of Corinth, and lost the battle of Cnidus. 

Whilst Tithraustes was successfully rousing up enemies 394. 
against Sparta on land, Pharnabazus had placed a fleet of 
Phoenician vessels under the command of Conon, the Athenian 
admiral, who had been so unfortunate at iEgospotami. Conon 
met the Spartan fleet at Cnidus, and was completely victorious, 
Peisander being slain and his fleet shattered. Cnidus was a 
reversal of iEgospotami, and it broke Sparta's naval power. 
Agesilaus heard of the battle the night before he encountered 
the enemy at Coronea, and kept the news secret lest it 
should discourage his troops. In the battle of Coronea which 
followed the Spartans were victorious, but it was so fiercely 
contested and they lost so many men that Agesilaus dared not 
attempt anything further, and was glad to cross the Gulf of 
Corinth and reach Peloponnesus by sea. 

With the battle of Cnidus fell the Spartan power in Asia. 



474 GEEECE 

Conon and Pharnabazus sailed from city to city expelling 
the Spartan garrisons. Everywhere they were hailed as 
liberators, and thus passed away Agesilaus' dream of Asiatic 
empire. 
393. Having driven the Spartans out of Asia, Conon and 

Pharnabazus crossed the JEge&n and harried the Spartan 
coast itself, after which they anchored at Piraeus, and as the 
fleet was now idle Conon persuaded Pharnabazus to let him 
employ his men in rebuilding the long walls and fortifications 
which had been in ruins for ten years. Thus Conon, whose 
name had been unhappily associated with the disaster which 
ruined his native city, was the means of restoring it. The 
rebuilding of the fortifications so encouraged the Athenians 
that they once again began to build a fleet. In little more 
than two years they were able to send forty ships to sea, 
and the city lifted up her head, although but a shadow of her 
former self. 

Meanwhile Corinth, by reason of her position in Pelopon- 
nesus, was bearing the brunt of the war against Sparta, and 
the Spartans had obtained possession of the port of Lechseum 
and were surrounding Corinth itself. At this time an incident 
happened of some interest from a military point of view. 

It entered into the mind of Iphicrates, an Athenian, to try 
a new method of fighting for the purpose of neutralising the 
apparently overwhelming advantages possessed by the hoplites. 
Accordingly he organised a body of peltasts, light-armed, 
mobile troops with swords and long javelins, who being 
more nimble than the hoplites could harass them on all sides, 
and advance and retreat at will. These troops proved very 
391. effective, and after practising them in smaller engagements 
Iphicrates attacked a Spartan battalion 600 strong and de- 
stroyed it. This novel method of fighting, by which the fine 
effect of Spartan discipline seemed about to be neutralised, 
produced a sensation ; and, added to their recent misfortunes 
on the sea, so alarmed the Spartans that they determined to 
make peace. Instead of approaching their enemies directly, 



THE SUPEEMACY OF SPARTA 475 

they adopted the round-about method of sending Antalcidas, 
an able politician, to seek the help of Persia in favour of a 
general peace. They were assisted in the negotiation by 
Tribazus, who had succeeded Tithraustes as satrap in Asia 
Minor. Antalcidas persuaded Tribazus that it was not to the 
interest of Persia to help Athens further, and the satrap 
actually threw Conon into prison. After this untoward 
incident the admiral disappears from history, but it is be- 
lieved that he escaped from prison, took service with the 
king of Cyprus, and died shortly after. He had done ex- 
cellent work for Athens in his last days, and his memory 
deserves our respect. 

Antalcidas and Tribazus went up to Susa and arranged 387. 
the terms of a peace to be submitted to the various states. It 
ran as follows : — 

" King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia 
and the islands of Clazomense and Cyprus should belong to 
him. He also thinks it just that the other Grecian cities, 
both small and great, should be independent except Lemnos, 
Imbros and Scyros, which are to belong to Athens, as of old. 
Should any parties refuse to accept this peace, he will make 
war upon them, along with those who are of the same mind, 
both by land and sea, with ships and with money." 

This peace was disgraceful from a Grecian point of view, 
as it once more handed over to Persia the cities of the Asiatic 
Greeks, and acknowledged the Persian king as arbiter of the 
destinies of Greece. From a Spartan standpoint it was adroit ; 
for, by acknowledging the independence of every Greek city, it 
theoretically broke up the Athenian and Theban confederacies, 
and prepared a way by which Sparta might hope to become 
absolute in Greece. Nevertheless the States were tired of the 
war, and as none of them cared to face the combined forces of 
Sparta and Persia, the peace was agreed to, after strong protest 
from Thebes. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE RISE OP THEBES. 

387. The only gainers by the peace of Antalcidas were Persia and 
Sparta. Persia, now definitely recognised as suzerain of the 
Asiatic Greeks, proceeded to confirm her power by building 
citadels and placing governors and garrisons in the various 
cities. As for Sparta she had not only broken up the com- 
bination which had been formed against her, but by the clause 
recognising the autonomy of the cities had made combination 
less likely in the future. No sooner was the peace signed 
than she proclaimed the independence of the Boeotian cities, 
organised oligarchies favourable to herself, and in some in- 
stances placed garrisons in the cities. She even went the 
length of restoring Platsea, which she herself had destroyed, 
merely that it might be a thorn in the side of Thebes. 

Whilst Sparta insisted upon the other states carrying out 
the terms of the treaty, she took care that none of the cities 
subject to herself should obtain autonomy, thus keeping her 
own federation intact whilst breaking up every other. Man- 
tinea, for instance, had been slack in sending contingents, 
and was suspected of having supplied corn to Argos during 
the war. Sparta accordingly attacked it, destroyed its forti- 
fications, and divided the city itself into villages each governed 
by a separate oligarchy. The town of Phlius was treated in 
similarly high-handed fashion. Thus the policy of Sparta 
was as narrow and jealous as ever, being based upon the 
old principle that every other state should be depressed in 
order that she might remain strong. This very selfishness, 

however, proved her ruin. 

(476) 



THE EISE OF THEBES 477 

It happened that trouble arose in the Chalcidian peninsula, 
where Olynthus, the chief city, had become head of a confede- 
racy and was now waxing powerful. Two cities, Acanthus 
and Apollonia, refused to join the league, and when threatened 
they appealed to Sparta, who, jealous of Olynthus, promised 
help. 

An army was sent north upon this mission, part of which 
marching under Phcebidas, chanced to halt near Thebes, be- 
tween which city and Sparta there was peace. Leontiades, the 
leader of the pro-Spartan party in Thebes, came out to see 
Phcebidas and informed him that there was at that moment 
a chance of surprising the city, as a religious festival was in 
progress, and the citadel was entirely occupied by women. 
Phcebidas listened to the traitor, and in spite of the peace 
existing between the states, treacherously entered, took the 
city by surprise and garrisoned the citadel. 382. 

When the Spartans heard what had been done they 
simulated wrath and fined Phcebidas, but kept possession of 
the city — a gross breach of faith which cost them their empire 
in the end. The leading Thebans fled to Athens ; the prisons 
in Thebes \ were crowded with such patriots as remained ; and 
for three years the city passed through the valley of humilia- 
tion. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the Spartan army had gone north ; 
and after a protracted struggle, Olynthus was captured, and a 
confederacy dissolved which might have formed a bulwark 
against the power of Macedonia. 

Sparta seemed now in an enviable position. She was 
supreme in Peloponnesus, her troops occupied Thebes, the 
Chalcidian cities enrolled themselves as her allies, and she 
was on friendly terms with Persia, Syracuse and Macedonia. 
Yet whilst apparently prosperous she was on the brink of 
ruin, and her destruction was destined to come through that 
very city which she had treated with so much contempt, 
and against which she had committed so flagrant a breach 
of international morality. 



478 GEEECB 

Whilst Thebes was lying under the heel of Sparta, com- 
munication was kept up between those patriots who were dwel- 
ling in the city and those who had taken refuge in Athens. 
Amongst the latter were Pelopidas and Epaminondas, men of 
high courage and ability, the former a brilliant soldier, the 

379. latter both soldier and statesman. With a view to ejecting 
the Spartan garrison from Thebes, a plot was formed for 
slaying the polemarchs, and it was carried out with great 
daring and complete success. Pelopidas and six others got 
access to the city disguised as countrymen, and next night 
they assassinated the polemarchs, released the political 
prisoners, and by sound of trumpet summoned the citizens 
to arms. Had the Spartan garrison acted promptly they 
might have crushed the revolt, but they were so surprised 
that they shut themselves up in the citadel ; and, as the exiles 
nocked from every side, the success of the revolt was secured. 
When Pelopidas proceeded to storm the citadel the garrison 
capitulated, and the Spartans were allowed to depart in 
safety, leaving their Theban supporters to be massacred. 

The Spartans in a rage executed the commanders of the 
garrison which had capitulated, and sent King Cleombrotus 
to recover Thebes, but he achieved nothing. Thus far Athens 
had kept out of the quarrel, but a reckless attempt made by 
Sphodrias, a Spartan general, to surprise Athens as Thebes 
had been surprised, aroused such indignation that Athens 
joined Thebes and declared war against Sparta. 

378. Both Athens and Thebes now strained every nerve. Athens 

had been successful against the allies of Sparta on the sea, 
and had established a new maritime league on better lines 
than the last. It was arranged that the governments in the 
cities should not be interfered with, and that they should not 
pay tribute but merely subscribe to the common war fund. 
The league numbered seventy cities, but never approached the 
strength of the earlier one. 

The Thebans, delighted at having recovered their freedom, 
were full of enthusiasm. During the Peloponnesian war they 



THE EISE OF THEBES 479 

had been little behind Sparta in military qualities, and they 
had in Pelopidas and Epaminondas the ablest generals in 
Greece. These set themselves to improve the army, and 
when the Spartans sent troops to attack them they avoided 
battle, so that the enemy made no progress. On one 375. 
occasion when the armies met almost by accident at Tegyra, 
the Thebans although outnumbered were victorious. The 
Athenians were equally successful on the sea, and the military 
prestige of Sparta was evidently on the wane, but unfortun- 
ately the jealousy and distrust which had existed so long 
between Thebes and Athens revived, and Athens retired from 
the alliance and offered peace to Sparta. 

With the hope of bringing about a general peace, a con- 
gress was held in Sparta at which all the states interested 
were represented. A treaty was entered into by the terms 371. 
of which the independence of the Greek cities was recognised, 
and it was signed by various states. When the turn of 
Thebes came, Epaminondas demanded to sign for the whole 
of Boeotia, but Agesilaus refused to allow this. Epaminondas 
was firm, declaring that since Sparta signed for Laconia, 
Thebes had a right to sign for Boeotia. The city was accordingly 
struck out of the treaty, and the Theban envoys went home 
without allies and with anxious thoughts concerning the 
future. The Spartans, on the other hand, were delighted at 
the turn affairs had taken. For years they had longed to 
root the very name of Thebes from the earth, and they 
believed that the hour had come. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE SUPREMACY OP THEBES. 

371. It happened that at the very time when the peace was being' 

concluded at Sparta, the Spartan king Cleombrotus was in 

Phocis with an army, so he was ordered to invade Boeotia 

without delay. Epaminondas hurried to occupy the passes, 

but Cleombrotus evaded him, and he had barely time to 

throw himself in front of Thebes when the Spartans were 

upon him in the plain of Leuctra. The energy of the Spartans 

took the heart out of the Boeotians, some of whom were not 

very cordial towards Thebes in any case, and it needed all 

the persuasion of Epaminondas and Pelopidas to keep the 

army from breaking up. 

Epaminondas had long expected this contest, and after 

much consideration had determined on a new departure in 

military tactics. Hitherto Greek armies had attacked in a 

line of uniform depth, and Epaminondas knew that in 

battle the Spartans were generally stationed on the right 

wing of their army in a formation about twelve files deep. 

If he met them in similar fashion defeat was sure, as he had 

fewer men, and these greatly dispirited. He determined, 

therefore, to concentrate his most reliable troops on his left 

wing facing the Spartans, and to keep back the rest of his 

forces until he had struck a tremendous blow at their right 

wing. Accordingly he massed the Thebans, on whom he 

chiefly relied, in a solid square fifty men deep, and staked his 

all upon one great effort. If the square failed to break the 

Spartan line all was lost ; if it was victorious the rest of the 

battle would take care of itself. This system of attack, then 

(480) 



THE SUPEEMACY OF THEBES 481 

for the first time introduced by Epaminondas, and termed now 
" attaque en echelon," was used with great effect in modern 
times by Buonaparte. The nature of the formation was 
masked from the enemy by the cavalry, but when these 
cleared away the square charged straight at the spot where 
Cleombrotus and the picked troops of Sparta were arrayed. 
The Spartans fought well, but the square was irresistible. 
Cleombrotus was mortally wounded, most of his staff fell, and 
at the cry from Epaminondas of " one step more and the day 
is ours," the Spartan line broke and JL ■■-■■ beaten soldiers fled 
to their entrenchments. The fighting - iad lasted but a few 
minutes, yet half the Spartans and most of their officers were 
left dead on the field. Just as Epaminondas had expected, the 
defeat of the Spartans was followed by the retreat of their 
allies, and during the night the army melted away. On the 
borders they met the entire Spartan reserve coming to their 
rescue, but it came too late and they returned together. 
Only three weeks before Thebes had been treated with scorn 
by Sparta, and now the scorner's pride was humbled in the 
dust and her power broken. It was the rule at Sparta to 
treat defeated warriors with insult and to deprive them 
of citizenship. This time the rule was allowed to sleep. For 
Sparta the day of heroics had passed, her empire crumbled 
quickly, for it depended entirely upon the sword, and a 
greater military power had arisen in Greece. 

The change was at once felt in Peloponnesus. Mantinea, 
which had been divided into parts by Sparta, reunited 
and fortified herself. Arcadia, from which Sparta had long 
drawn her best soldiers, fell away ; in Tegea and Argos her 
partisans were massacred — the Spartans not daring to inter- 
fere. Nor were the states satisfied with falling from Sparta, 
for they took active measures to make sure that they would 
never come under her power again. Hitherto Arcadia had 
consisted of disunited cities, but these now federated, and a 
new city was founded called Megalopolis, which was to be the 
capital of the state, and at which the chosen representatives of 

31 



482 GEEECB 

the federated cities were to meet periodically in council. The 
scheme was not a permanent success, but it served its purpose 
for a time. 

Next year Epaminondas determined to still further weaken 
Sparta. The Spartans were a military caste, devoting them- 
selves to war whilst their subjects in Messenia, Arcadia and 
Laconia toiled for them. Arcadia had now declared herself 
independent, and Epaminondas saw that if Messenia could 
also regain her independence, the continued existence of Sparta 
as a purely military state would become impossible. 

370. Accordingly he issttad a proclamation inviting the Messenian 

exiles to return to their country, and followed it up by 
invading Peloponnesus. Instead of wasting time with 
smaller matters Epaminondas marched straight on Sparta and 
reached it without serious opposition. It was unfortified, and 
its case seemed desperate, for the Spartans could only put 
2,000 citizens in the field ; but by offering freedom to any 
Helots who would help them they raised the army to 8,000, and 
having erected barricades awaited the result. But Epaminon- 
das mercifully determined not to put out " one of the eyes of 
Greece," and having circled round the city and destroyed its 
arsenal, marched westward to Messenia. He declared this 
province free, and built a citadel on Mount Ithome, connect- 
ing the town of Messene with it by fortifications. The work 
which he did in Messenia proved permanent, and Sparta was 
thus hemmed in by independent provinces. 

Sparta, now fallen very low, in her despair sought help 
from Athens, and the Athenians, jealous of the rising power 
of Thebes, sent a force to the assistance of their ancient enemy. 

369. When, therefore, Epaminondas set out the next year to invade 
Peloponnesus he found the isthmus of Corinth occupied by 
Athenian and Spartan troops. He broke through their line 
and entered the peninsula, but achieved little. 

Next year the Thebans invaded Thessaly where Alexander 
of Pherse was giving trouble. Pelopidas commanded the army, 
and compelled Alexander to solicit peace and give hostages. 



THE SUPREMACY OF THEBES 483 

Amongst these was a young man named Philip, afterwards 
to become famous as king of Macedon, and conqueror of 
Greece. 

Later, Epaminondas made a third expedition into Pelopon- 367. 
nesus, and enrolled the Achaean cities as allies, wisely refrain- 
ing from interference with their governments. Unfortunately, 
this gave offence at Thebes, his proceedings were reversed, and 
Theban governors and garrisons sent to the subject cities. 
This was a blunder, for the citizens rose against their garrisons 
and made alliance with Sparta, thus giving her her first gleam 
of hope since Leuctra. Pride led the Thebans into another 
blunder. Fearing lest the Persians should help Sparta and 
Athens, they sent Pelopidas to the Persian court to beg 
Artaxerxes to recognise Thebes as the head state in Greece. 
Pelopidas had a powerful though humiliating argument, for 
Thebes had fought for Xerxes in former times, but it would 
have been better for her now had she refused to bow the 
knee to Baal. However, Pelopidas got a rescript from the 
king, and deputies were called to Thebes from the other states 
to hear it read. But the commands of the Persian monarch 
were treated with contempt by the deputies, and it was 
evident that his was no longer a name to conjure with. Just 
before this, Pelopidas, whilst travelling in Thessaly on state 
business, was thrown into prison by Alexander of Pheras, 
and the Thebans sent an army to rescue him. The army 
was not under the command of Epaminondas, and the generals 
showed such incompetence that it was threatened with 
destruction. Fortunately, Epaminondas was serving in the 
ranks, and the soldiers placed their hero in command, after 
which they returned safely. The appointment of Epami- 
nondas was at once confirmed by the Thebans, and returning 
to Thessaly he successfully rescued his friend. 

A few years later, Pelopidas, determined to be revenged, led 364. 
an army into Thessaly against Alexander. He was victorious 
at Cynoscephalse ; but, seeing Alexander near him, foolishly 
rushed upon him unsupported, and like Cyrus at Cunaxa, 



484 GEEECE 

threw his life away. The death of Pelopidas lessened the 
value of victory ; but the following year a fresh army was 
sent into Thessaly, and Alexander was completely overcome. 

During this period the Athenians had been trying to re- 
cover some fragments of their maritime empire, and had not 
been entirely unsuccessful. No longer fearful of Sparta, they 
sent a fleet into the iEgean and recovered Samos, Potidsea and 
other places. The Thebans, who were not a maritime people, 
tried to emulate them, but though Epaminondas cruised about 
for twelve months with a fleet he did nothing of consequence, 
and Thebes gave up the attempt. 

During the absence of Epaminondas, affairs in Peloponnesus 
had again become menacing. Elis and Arcadia had been at 
war and the Arcadians had seized Olympia, had deposed the 
Eleians from their ancient position as managers of the Olympic 
games, and were actually appropriating the sacred treasure 
in the temple for war expenses. This act was looked upon 
as sacrilege by some of the cities, and they retired from 
the league — Mantinea being amongst the number. Sparta 
taking advantage of this disunion allied herself with the 
malcontents, and increased her influence to such an extent 
that the Thebans determined to counteract it. Accordingly, 
Epaminondas marched into Peloponnesus for the fourth time ; 
and, after a futile attempt to surprise Sparta, fought a pitched 
362. battle in front of Mantinea against her and her allies. Once 
more he showed consummate generalship, the enemy was routed 
and would have been cut to pieces, but that he himself received 
a mortal wound. The death of their general paralysed the 
Thebans, who made no attempt to follow up their advantage, 
but retired from Peloponnesus. That summer a peace was 
arranged between the combatants, and although the Spartans 
refused to sign it because their old subjects the Arcadians 
and Messenians were admitted on equal terms, their power had 
been so broken by Epaminondas that their consent or refusal 
mattered little. 

King Agesilaus, who had lived long enough to see Sparta 



THE SUPEBMACY OF THEBES 485 

ruined, made one further effort to win glory for his country. 
Tachos, king of Egypt, was in revolt against Persia, and 
Agesilaus took a force of 1,000 hoplites across to assist him. 
The Spartan king was eighty years of age, lame, and insig- 
nificant in appearance, and the Egyptians refused to entrust 
the command of the army to him. But they were poor judges 
of men, for Agesilaus joined Nectanebo, the rival of Tachos, 
and placed him on the throne instead. Nectanebo rewarded 
him with a gift of 230 talents, with which he was about to 361. 
return home when he died. His body was embalmed and 
carried to Sparta, where it was buried with much ceremony. 
Archidamus, his son, succeeded to a decaying state, and 
Agesilaus might almost be called the last of the Spartans. 

The death of Epaminondas was a misfortune not only to 
Thebes but to Greece. Cicero has spoken of him as the 
greatest of the Greeks, and certainly he was one of the 
greatest. His public and private life were alike blameless, 
and he had a breadth of view not common amongst Greeks. 
He died in his prime, and the work he had already done 
leads us to believe that he might have helped to unify 
Greece, and thus have saved her from falling under the 
rough hand of the Macedonian. Epaminondas, however, did 
not live long enough to consolidate the work so auspiciously 
begun He had broken the power of Sparta, but he put 
nothing of permanent importance in her place. He raised 
Thebes to eminence, but left no worthy successor, and with 
his life her greatness passed away. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

SICILY. 

The war which ended in the destruction of the Athenian 
armament commanded by Nicias and Demosthenes, left Syra- 
cuse triumphant but exhausted. Nevertheless, so satisfied 
were the Sicilians that the ruin of Athens was imminent 
that they sent a squadron to reinforce that of Sparta and 
operate against her in the iEgean Sea. Athens, however, 
showed remarkable vitality, and the war dragged on until 

410. at the battle of Cyzicus, the Spartan and Syracusan squadrons 
were destroyed together. 

Meanwhile the Segestans, already responsible for so much 
evil, brought further trouble upon the island. Having 
been again attacked by Selinus they sought the help of 
Carthage, at that time a prosperous and wealthy city. Seventy 
years before, at the time when Xerxes invaded Greece, 
the Carthaginians invaded Sicily, but were so disastrously 
defeated at Himera by Gelo of Syracuse, that they had 
not dared to intermeddle since. Their hesitation had been 
partly owing to a dread of Athens, then rising rapidly into 
prominence as a naval power, but when Athens was crushed 
they were ready to push forward. Accordingly they accepted 
the invitation given by Egesta to invade Sicily a second time, 

409, and were more successful than on the former occasion, captur- 
ing and destroying the cities of Selinus and Himera. The de- 
struction of these important Sicilian cities by an African host 
created a profound impression throughout Sicily, especially 
in Syracuse. 

406. Three years later the Carthaginians made another descent 

(486) 




SICILY 487 

upon Sicily, this time attacking and plundering Agrigentum, 
one of the finest of the Sicilian cities. This fresh disaster 
alarmed the Syracusans, who punished the apathy of their 
generals by deposing them, and appointed new commanders, 
amongst whom Dionysius was chief. Dionysius, an ambitious 
man, got rid of his colleagues and became sole commander, 
after which it was but a step to despotism. Having gained 
the power, he kept it for thirty-eight years, ruling unscrupu- 
lously, but not doing badly for Syracuse on the whole. 

The first efforts of Dionysius were directed against Naxos, 397. 
Catana and Leontini, and having got these under his rule and 
fortified Syracuse, he declared war against Carthage. The 
Carthaginians beset Syracuse by land and sea, and Dionysius, 
despairing of success was meditating flight, when a plague 
broke out in the Carthaginian camp and the soldiers died by 
thousands. This changed the situation to such an extent that 
the Carthaginian general was glad to make a secret treaty and 
escape with his Carthaginian troops, leaving his mercenaries 
to their fate. After this unexpected good fortune Dionysius 
marched round the island and captured every Carthaginian 
stronghold except Drepanum and Lilybaeum, towns in the 
extreme west. 

Being now well established, Dionysius pushed his conquests 385. 
into Southern Italy, where he was so successful, that his power 
extended far and wide, his ships plundering the coasts of 
Latium, Etruria and Corsica. He made Syracuse a city of 
high importance, larger than Athens in area and population. 
He strengthened its fortifications, built docks and public 
buildings, and was to Syracuse something like what Pericles 
had been to Athens. In many ways, however, his influence 
was malign, for at home he maintained his despotic power by 
massacre and assassination, and abroad he overturned freedom 
wherever he found it. His widespread success and oppression 
alarmed the Greeks, and when he sent envoys to the Olympic 
games a violent demonstration was made against him, and his 
name was greeted with shouts of reprobation. 



488 GEEECE 

Dionysius affected to patronise literature and philosophy, 
and Plato, who visited Sicily for the purpose of seeing Mount 
Etna, was introduced to him by Dion, his brother-in-law. The 
moral tone of Plato's conversation did not suit the tyrant, 
who dismissed him and actually arranged that he should be 
sold as a slave on the way home, though he was speedily 
ransomed by his friends. 

367. Dionysius II. succeeded to his father. He was a young 

man at his accession, and for a time allowed Dion, his father- 
in-law. to guide him. Dion was a philosopher, an ardent 
admirer of Plato, and an advocate of constitutional govern- 
ment. Anxious to influence his son-in-law in the same direc- 
tion, he persuaded Plato, notwithstanding his former melan- 
choly experiences, to return to Sicily and educate the young 
king. For a time Dionysius was willing to be advised, but at 
last he lost patience with his mentors, banished Dion, sent 
Plato home, and determined to eat, drink and be merry. It 
was not unnatural ; but he carried indulgence too far, and lost 
the regard of his subjects. 

356. Hearing of the king's unpopularity, and having many 

friends in Syracuse, Dion determined to attack him, and 
landed suddenly with a force of 800 men. The enterprise 
was the easier as Dionysius was then in Italy. Dion was 
hailed as a deliverer, and entered Syracuse without resistance, 
the partisans of Dionysius retiring into the fort of Ortygia, 
which stood at the entrance to the harbour. 

When Dionysius returned, he tried to recover the city by 
force ; but having been defeated on sea, he sailed away to 
Italy, after which the citadel was surrendered, and Dion 
accepted as ruler. 

Dion had now a fine opportunity for carrying out his 
theories concerning constitutional government ; but, to the 
disgust of his friends, he took no steps to put into practice 
the principles he had advocated, and the people soon saw that 
they had gained nothing by the change. Accordingly he lost 

353. popularity, and was assassinated. Callipus, Hipparinus and 




SICILY 489 

Nysaeus followed as tyrants in rapid succession, and then 
Dionysius II. was restored, but drunken habits unfitted him 
for the position, and after a time of chaos the Syracusans 
appealed to Corinth to help them out of their troubles. The 
Corinthians received the petition favourably, and sent Timoleon, 
one of their most respected citizens, with an expedition. The 344. 
force was really inadequate for the purpose of restoring order, 
nevertheless Timoleon showed so much wisdom in managing 
it that the Sicilians rallied round him, and he was extremely 
successful. Dionysius retired to Corinth, where he spent the 
rest of his days teaching elocution, whilst Timoleon ruled in 
Syracuse. Having pacified Syracuse and destroyed the citadel 
which for many years had been a stronghold of tyranny, 
Timoleon was proceeding to expel the tyrants from other 
cities when the Carthaginians suddenly landed at Lilybeeum 
with an immense army. So alarmed were the Syracusans 
that Timoleon could only persuade 12,000 men to march 340. 
against the enemy, and some of these deserted on the route. 
Nothing daunted, he pressed forward and came upon the 
Carthaginian army crossing the river Crimesus. The battle 
was somewhat like that described in the song of Deborah. 
When half the army had crossed the river a fierce storm 
arose, beating in the face of the Carthaginians and causing 
the river to overflow. During the storm Timoleon charged 
down the hill with a vehemence which could not be withstood. 
The rout of the vast but disorganised army was total, the 
slaughter prodigious, the spoil immense. The terrified Cartha- 
ginians fled, nor did they rest until reaching Lilybseum they re- 
embarked and crossed to Africa. After this Timoleon marched 
from city to city, expelling the despots and establishing free 
communities with uniform success. Having freed the island, 
and finding his eyesight failing, he laid down his office but 
remained in Syracuse as a private citizen, retaining his in- 
fluence, advising the assembly when matters of import- 
ance had to be considered, and dying at last honoured and 
beloved by all. 



490 GEEECE 

The influence of Timoleon's excellent rule was felt for 

317. nearly twenty years, after which Agathocles seized the 
supreme power. He proved a terrible tyrant, massacring 
and exiling the citizens, and confiscating the property of the 
wealthy at will. He managed, however, to establish himself 
firmly, and in a few years nearly the whole of Sicily was 
under his rule. 

310. At length Agathocles was defeated by the Carthaginians 

and blockaded in Syracuse. He then did a most daring thing. 
Gathering an army secretly, and evading the Carthaginian 
fleet, he suddenly crossed to Africa and carried the war into 
the enemy's country. The Carthaginians were taken by sur- 
prise, and his early successes were brilliant ; but at length 
finding his forces insufficient to capture Carthage, and hearing 
that the Sicilian cities were falling from his rule, he returned 
to the island, leaving his army in Africa. Having settled 
matters in Sicily he went back to Africa, but found the army 
there in such a state that he returned to Syracuse. The soldiers, 
exasperated by his desertion, slew his sons, whereupon he 
retaliated by murdering the relatives of the Syracusan officers 
who were in Africa. In spite of his cruelty he retained his 
power until his death, and when he died, aged seventy-two, he 

289. was planning a new expedition against Carthage. He was a 
skilful general, but unprincipled and cruel. 

After the death of Agathocles the Syracusans, again 
attacked by Carthage, besought the help of Pyrrhus, king 
of Epirus. Pyrrhus came at their entreaty, but ended, as is 
usual in such cases, by trying to become their master. After 

276. he left Sicily, Hiero II., the ruler in Syracuse, had great 
trouble with the Mamertines, a band of Campanian mer- 
cenaries who had seized Messina. In order to operate more 
successfully against these, he asked the aid of Carthage, and the 
Mamertines in their turn obtained help from Rome. Hiero was 
defeated by the Romans and was wise enough to conclude a 
peace with them and become their ally, so that Syracuse 
remained peaceful and prosperous during the rest of his reign. 



SICILY 491 

His successor, Hieronymus, foolishly threw up the Roman 
alliance in exchange for that of Carthage, and the result was 
fatal. Marcellus attacked Syracuse, and after a siege of two 
years, during which the renowned Archimedes assisted his 
fellow citizens greatly by his skill in designing engines of 
war, the city fell, and was henceforth merged in the Roman 212. 
province of Sicily. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE RISE OP MACEDONIA. 

Macedonia, the country lying north of Thessaly, was moun- 
tainous and rugged, and inhabited by an independent and 
somewhat barbarous people. The Macedonians, though not 
acknowledged as Greeks, were near akin, resembling them in 
many ways but behind them in civilisation. Their kings 
claimed to be of Hellenic race, and the claim was tacitly 
admitted by their being allowed to take part in the Olympic 
games. The Macedonian nobility affected Greek customs, 
used the Greek language at court, adopted Greek names and 
gave Greek titles to their gods. Thus there was much 
similarity between the races, but also a considerable differ- 
ence. The Macedonians lived a rough, out-door life, engaging 
in hunting and agriculture, and enjoying few of the artistic 
and literary advantages with which Greece abounded. Politic- 
ally they had this initial advantage over the Greeks, that they 
were content to form one state and serve one king, and as 
they were a hardy people they only needed a brilliant leader 
to ensure their coming to the front. Now it happened that 
about the time when Athens, Sparta and Thebes had in turn 
worn themselves out, and when by the death of Epaminondas 
and Agesilaus two great chiefs had been lost to Greece, Mace- 
donia had a king who had enjoyed Greek training, and had 
many advantages over his contemporaries. This was the 
famous Philip of Macedon whom Pelopidas had carried to 
Thebes as a hostage when quite a lad, who had there enjoyed 
the companionship of Pelopidas and Epaminondas, had been 

well treated and well taught, and had seen the Theban military 

(492) 



THE EISE IN MACEDONIA 493 

system at its best. He was a younger son, but of his elder 
brothers Alexander was murdered and Perdiccas killed in 
battle, after which, there being but an infant son left to 
Perdiccas, Philip was appointed regent and guardian of the 359. 
child. He was only twenty-three years of age at this time, 
and his position was not very assured, for there were two 
pretenders to the throne and many foreign enemies, but he 
showed indomitable energy and soon cleared the pretenders 
out of the way. The most important of the foreign enemies 
were the Illyrians, in fighting against whom Perdiccas had 
been killed, but Philip mastered them also, using the tactics 
which he had learned from Epaminondas with crushing effect. 
These successes made him popular, and he was chosen as king 
without further question. 

The circumstances of the time gave wide opportunity to 
an ambitious man, for the Greek states had so weakened 
themselves by internecine warfare that they were at the 
mercy of any determined assailant. Sparta, long the ac- 
knowledged leader, had fallen upon evil times ; Athens, the 
saviour of Greece, after rising to a high position was now 
brought low ; and Thebes, the hammer that had broken 
Sparta, after the death of Epaminondas quickly lost her 
strength. For a time it seemed as if Athens might again lift 
her head. After the ruin of Sparta, no other power seriously 
contested with her the supremacy of the JEgean, and had she 
acted wisely she might once more have led a powerful league. 
But her citizens had lost the spirit of enterprise and self- 
sacrifice. Slavery had made great strides in their midst, and 
their wars were carried on by mercenaries and adventurers 
who spoiled friend as well as foe. The anger caused by 
these marauders led to the secession of various members 
of the confederacy, and what is known as the Social war 
followed, the results of which so depressed the Athenians that 
they gave up trying to be great. 

Whilst the Social war was in progress, Philip had been 
busy securing for himself such ancient Athenian possessions 



494 GKEECE 

as lay near at hand. He was not only brave but astute and 
unscrupulous, as clever at a bargain as in war. Being desirous 
of acquiring a good port on the iEgean, he offered to reconquer 
Amphipolis for the Athenians if they would give him Pydna. 

357. He conquered Amphipolis, received Pydna and kept both. 
Realising that this would mean a rupture with Athens, he 
next seized the Athenian city of Potidaea, and presented it to 
Olynthus in order that the Olynthians might befriend him in 
the coming struggle. Whilst the Social war was in progress 
he also conquered the Thracians and founded Philippi, a 

356. city which proved of great value, partly as a fortress to keep 
the Thracians in check, partly because of the development of 
gold mines in the neighbourhood, from which he ultimately 
obtained a large revenue. Philip was now rich and able to 
perfect his military organisation, and he bettered what he had 
learned from Epaminondas by improvements which made his 
soldiers invincible. Epaminondas had adopted the method of 
charging in column instead of in line, but had not altered the 
weapons of his men, and Greek soldiers everywhere fought 
with spears which projected six feet. Philip armed his soldiers 
with spears twenty-one feet long, balanced so as to be held 
fifteen feet from the point and six feet from the stock. The 
phalanx or column was in sixteen ranks, three feet apart, so 
that several rows of sharp spear heads projected in front of 
the men in the first rank ; and when the phalanx charged, the 
enemy was swept away by the serried mass of steel without 
getting near enough to the Macedonians to harm them. Against 
Greeks fighting in the same fashion, but with short spears, the 
phalanx was invincible, and it was equally fatal to Asiatics. 
Even amongst the Romans it created a panic at first, but they 
found out a way of overcoming it. Its weakness lay in this 
that it could not turn quickly nor work easily in uneven 
ground, and the Romans found that by choosing their ground, 
changing their position rapidly, and attacking on the flanks, 
they could overcome it with javelins and short swords. But 
before this method of mastering it had been discovered, the 



THE EISE IN MACEDONIA 495 

Macedonian phalanx had conquered the Grecian and eastern 
world. 

" The Social War " gave Philip a golden opportunity for 
consolidating his power in the north, and no sooner was it 
over than "the Sacred War" opened a door through which 
he was enabled to enter Greece itself. After the battle of 
Leuctra, the Thebans had gained control over Phocis, but the 
Phocians threw off their yoke, and Thebes tried to use the 
power of the Amphictyonic assembly to crush them. On an 
absurd pretext of sacrilege, the Phocians were condemned to 
pay a heavy fine, but being high-spirited they refused, and 
when threatened seized the temple of Delphi with its treasure 356. 
and prepared for a desperate resistance. Philometus led the 
Phocians, and as the treasure amounted to £2,000,000, he was 
able to hire mercenaries freely and hold his own for a good 
while. At last he was defeated and slain, but his brother 
Onomarchus succeeded him and also held his enemies at bay. 

Philip meanwhile had been flourishing in the north and 354. 
had captured Methone, the last Athenian port in Macedonia. 
The road to Thessaly now lay open, and by invitation of the 
Thessalians he entered their province and marched on Pherse. 
As Pherae was in alliance with Phocis, Onomarchus went 
to its relief and Philip was driven back. Returning with a 352. 
larger army he totally defeated the Phocians, Onomarchus 
being slain. Philip was now master of Thessaly and he 
made good his position by placing garrisons in its cities. His 
easy conquest of Thessaly alarmed the Greeks, for only Thermo- 
pylae now lay between the conqueror and Southern Greece. 
The Phocians, unable after their great defeat to defend this 
pass, appealed to Athens for help and the Athenians sent a 
strong force. The check was effective for the time being. 
Philip marched south, but when he saw Thermopylae occupied 
he returned, nor did he trouble Southern Greece again for five 
years. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE CONQUEST OP GREECE. 

352. After Philip had retired from Thermopylae the Sacred war 

dragged on as before. The Phocians still kept the Thebans 

in check, but the Thebans knew that the Delphic treasure 

would be exhausted some day, and that then the Phocians 

would not be able to employ mercenaries. Philip also knew 

that the longer the war lasted the more exhausted the Greeks 

would become, so he did not interfere further, but bided his 

time, building forts and consolidating his strength. Soon 

Illyria, Thessaly and the greater part of Thrace were under 

his control, and only the Chalcidian Peninsula was needed to 

round off his dominions in the north. The Olynthians had 

been of great assistance to him and hoped to be spared, but as 

his forces began to concentrate on their borders they realised 

that they were to be devoured like the rest. Accordingly they 

sent envoys to Athens to ask for help, and the question came 

before the Assembly for discussion. At this time the leaders 

in the Athenian Assembly were Phocion and Demosthenes, 

both able and honest men. 

Demosthenes, the famous orator, was born in 382. His 

father, a manufacturer of arms, died when his son was 

young, so that Demosthenes was brought up by guardians. 

These tried to defraud him, and his first speeches were made 

in connection with law suits brought against them. When 

he began to speak in the public Assembly his efforts were 

ridiculed, but he persevered until he became the first orator 

of his time. 

In the days of Demosthenes the Athenians had lost much 

(496) 



THE CONQUEST OF GEEECE 497 

of the public spirit for which they had been famous at an 
earlier date, and there was great lack of political foresight. 
He was the first to see the danger that threatened from Mace- 
donia, and he delivered oration after oration, striving to arouse 
the Athenians. His first " Philippic " was delivered when Philip 
conquered Thessaly ; and, when Olynthus sent begging help, 
he advocated their cause in his "Olynthiac" orations. He was 
opposed by Phocion and though he prevailed so far as to 
persuade the Athenians to make alliance with Olynthus, the 
help they rendered was of a feeble character, and Philip cap- 
tured town after town in the peninsula until at last Olynthus 
itself fell to the conqueror. In the Chalcidian Peninsula Philip 348. 
destroyed thirty cities in all, treating the inhabitants, amongst 
whom were many Athenians, with barbarity. 

Having thus rounded off his dominions, Philip prepared 
to again march southward under the pretext of finishing 
the Sacred war. The danger was perceived by the Athenians, 
and envoys were sent to the Grecian cities, proposing a com- 
bined effort to resist him, but there was no satisfactory 
response. Philip, as usual, managed his affairs with discretion. 
Instead of attacking the Athenians he made overtures for 
peace, and although they had misgivings as to his intentions, 
they sent commissioners to Pella to treat with him, amongst 
whom was Demosthenes. Unfortunately several of the men 
were open to bribery, and the embassy was worse than useless. 
Demosthenes was not bribed, but rather treated with scant 
courtesy as an implacable foe. After the return of the 
commissioners Philip sent three ambassadors to Athens who 
agreed upon a draft alliance, only needing his ratification 
to make it complete. Another Athenian embassy was sent to 
obtain this ratification, but meanwhile Philip marched south- 346. 
ward and passed Thermopylae unopposed, upon which the Pho- 
cians gave up the contest and threw themselves upon his mercy. 
He accordingly occupied Delphi, and called the Amphictyonic 
Council together to decide what punishment should be in- 
flicted on the Phocians for using the Delphic treasure. 

32 



498 GKEECE 

The delegates from the other Greek states would have destroyed 
them utterly, but Philip was more reasonable, and it was ulti- 
mately decided that Phocis should cease to be recognised as 
a state, that its towns should be broken up into villages, and 
that its votes in the Assembly should be given to Philip, who 
thus became a member of the Amphictyonic Council and was 
appointed a president of the Pythian games. In this way, 
and without much trouble, he obtained what he coveted. 
Macedonia was now the leading Greek state and Philip had 
acquired a fully-recognised standing in connection with Grecian 
affairs. 

The Athenians, who had allowed themselves to be misled 
by their corrupt ambassadors, and had turned a deaf ear to 
the appeals of Demosthenes, now saw that the orator had been 
correct in his judgment as to Philip's intentions, and he rose 
high in public favour. So chagrined were the Athenians that 
they would have declared war against Philip then and there, 
but Demosthenes withheld them, pointing out how necessary 
it was for Athens to have allies before attacking so formidable 
an antagonist, and how hard it would be to obtain allies at 
that time when Philip had all Greece on his side. But though 
they refrained from declaring war, they rejected overtures for 
closer friendship, and Philip knew that Athens was his enemy. 
Hitherto Philip had not touched Peloponnesus, but now 
that his position was so well secured in the rest of Greece, he 
began to interfere in its affairs. Indeed the invitation to 
interfere came from the states themselves — the oligarchs in 
Elis appealing to him for help against their fellow citizens. 
Demosthenes headed an embassy to the states to persuade 
them to cease their quarrels, and unite against the common 

344. enemy, but he pleaded in vain, for first the oligarchs at 
Elis and then Argos and Messene obtained Macedonian help. 
Philip was wroth with Demosthenes, and sent remonstrances 
to Athens, but the Athenians were now alive to the situation 
and paid no heed to his complaints. 

34 °- At length Philip, pushing his conquest of Thrace, attacked 



THE CONQUEST OF GEEECE 499 

the Hellenic cities north of the Hellespont, and besieged 
Perinthus. Perinthus was strong and well fortified, and re- 
sisted so effectively that he turned aside to Byzantium. The 
Athenians were greatly interested in these cities, and moved 
to action by the stirring harangues of Demosthenes, sent 
succour of so substantial a character to the Bosphorus that 
Philip had to abandon the siege — a result which encouraged 
the Athenians and revived public spirit. 

After this check Philip fought against the Scythians and 
was laid aside for a time by a severe wound. There were, 
however, many Greeks suborned to look after his interests, 
amongst whom was iEschines, an Athenian, one of the com- 
missioners who was in Philip's pay. iEschines, who was sent 
to represent Athens in the Amphictyonic Council, managed 339. 
to fasten a quarrel upon Amphissa, a small town near Delphi, 
and persuaded the council to solicit the interference of Philip. 
Under pretext, therefore, of carrying out the instructions of 
the council, Philip marched southward ; but instead of troub- 
ling himself about Amphissa, he seized Elateia, a town of high 
strategic importance, commanding the entrance to Bceotia and 
Attica. This action filled the Athenians with dismay — they 
believed attack imminent, and prepared for a siege. Demos- 
thenes, pointing out that their hope lay in a Theban alliance, 
was sent to arrange one, and succeeded so well that the com- 
bined forces of Thebes, Athens and Corinth marched against 
the invader. The decisive battle was fought at Chseronea, 338. 
and after an obstinate contest a brilliant cavalry charge led 
by Alexander, Philip's son, decided the day for Macedonia. 
Considering the greatness of his victory Philip dealt moderately 
with the vanquished. The Thebans had to receive a Macedonian 
garrison, and lost their control over the Boeotian towns, but 
were otherwise spared. The treatment of the Athenians was 
yet more mild, for Philip returned their prisoners and only 
demanded the cession of the Thracian Chersonese and the 
recognition of his suzerainty. 

The reason Philip showed so much moderation in dealing 



500 GEEECE 

with the Greek states was that he had a project which he 
could not well carry out without their help. Accordingly 

338. he summoned a congress at Corinth, and when delegates came 
from most of the cities of Greece he first declared a consti- 
tution for Greece, local freedom under Macedonian suzerainty ; 
each city to be bound to Macedonia by a definite treaty of al- 
liance, some to receive garrisons, himself to be commander-in- 
chief. He then informed them that he intended to make the 
conquest of Asia and desired to do it as the representative of 
the Greek confederation. The project aroused a certain amount 
of enthusiasm ; each state was assessed for its share of the 
required equipment, and a year was set apart for preparation. 
But Philip was not destined to conquer Asia. He had 
raised up foes in his own household by divorcing his wife 
Olympias, the mother of Alexander, and taking Cleopatra in 
her stead, and this gave bitter offence ; so that, whilst he 
was walking in procession at his daughter's marriage, he was 
assassinated. 

336. He was forty-seven years of age, and had reigned twenty- 

four years, during which time he had done great things for 
Macedonia, for he found it an insignificant strip of territory 
and left it an empire. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

Alexander, known as " the Great," was twenty years of age 336. 
when he ascended the throne. In his boyhood he had Aristotle 
for his tutor, but at the age of sixteen he was entrusted by 
his father with active duty, being appointed governor of 
Macedonia during his absence at the siege of Byzantium. 
He was in command of the cavalry at Chseronea, and the 
victory was in no small degree owing to the dash which he 
displayed. Still, little was known of him at this time ; and, 
when Philip died, the enemies of Macedonia thought the danger 
had passed away. What they knew of Alexander did not im- 
press them with any exalted notions concerning his ability, 
for though he was brave, he was headstrong and quarrelsome, 
and had as yet displayed few of the qualities that make for 
kingship. Accordingly, at the death of Philip there was a 
general movement for freedom — the Illyrians, Thracians and 
Greeks all thinking they might with impunity cast off the 
Macedonian yoke. The Greeks were speedily undeceived, for 
within two months of his father's death Alexander marched 
through Greece into Peloponnesus with so formidable an army 
that opposition was dumb. Thessaly received him well, Thebes 
submitted, Athens sent an apology. A congress was held at 
Corinth, and he was chosen as commander-in-chief of the 
united forces of the confederation, in succession to his father. 335. 
Having settled the affairs of Greece Alexander next marched 
against the rebellious border tribes. During his absence it 
was reported that he was dead, and the Thebans, who were 

greatly averse to the presence of a Macedonian garrison in 

(501) 



502 GEEECE 

their midst, precipitately declared themselves independent, 
besieged the garrison in the citadel, and appealed to the 
other cities for help. Had time been given probably many 
would have responded, but before action could be taken Alex- 
ander suddenly appeared in Bceotia at the head of his army. 
The Thebans fought desperately, but were routed and chased 
into their city. Street fighting followed ; six thousand 
Thebans were slain, five times as many made prisoners. The 
allies of Macedonia were invited to pass judgment on the city, 
and doomed it to destruction, its inhabitants to slavery. The 
fate of Thebes terrified Greece and there was no more thought 
of resistance. The Athenians had not openly declared war 
but had gone very near it, and Alexander demanded the 
surrender of eight leading citizens, Demosthenes being amongst 
them. After much intercession he withdrew his demand, but 
stipulated that two generals, Charidemus and Ephialtes should 
be exiled ; and these leaving Athens, took service with Darius, 
king of Persia. 
334. At last everything being ready for the invasion of Asia, 

Alexander marched to the Hellespont with an army of 40,000 
men. The phalanx and bodyguard were native Macedonians, 
but there were also 12,000 Greeks and 7,000 Thracians and 
Illyrians. Besides the ordinary cavalry and infantry there 
was an artillery service with machines for throwing missiles, 
chiefly intended for besieging towns, but used by Alexander 
for the first time in battle also. 

Although Alexander's army was small, it was large enough 
for the work which lay before it. At one time it would have 
seemed madness for a force of 40,000 to attack the Persian 
Empire, but the successful retreat of the 10,000 showed that 
the empire, though vast in extent, was disunited and unwarlike 
and likely to fall an easy prey to a homogeneous force led by 
a brilliant general. Such a force was now about to attack it, 
and such a general, for though the surname " Great " may not 
be properly applicable to one so deficient in moral qualities as 
Alexander, yet judged purely as a fighter he showed extraordi- 



ALEXANDEE THE GEEAT 503 

nary power. His adversaries were for the most part untrained 
and timid Asiatics, and his success in pitched battles did not 
of itself prove much, but the rapidity of his movements, the 
certainty of his judgment, his determination, resourcefulness, 
and high spirit, show him to have been a general of marked 
ability. For the rest there is little that can be said in his 
favour. He had none of the self-abnegation, generosity and 
nobility of character which have been, fortunately for the 
world, so often found in military heroes. He was pure bar- 
barian at heart, and did much that cannot be associated in 
our minds with true greatness. He had a veneer of Greek 
philosophy and manners, but under the veneer lay the 
savage. 

Darius III. now sat upon the throne of Persia. He was 334. 
not in the direct royal line ; he had been called to the throne 
unexpectedly, and he had few qualifications for the position. 
At the outset of the war he displayed incapacity by allowing 
Alexander to cross the Hellespont unopposed. There was a 
Phoenician fleet which could have contested the passage, 
and as Alexander's fleet was not formidable, they might 
have contested it successfully. Yet he was permitted to 
cross at his leisure, and by this blunder the empire was 
thrown away. After this great error, Memnon, a Rhodian 
general who was commanding in Darius' army, advised the 
king not to fight a pitched battle but to .retire, defending the 
mountain passes and cities, and wasting the country so as to 
make it difficult for Alexander to find supplies, whilst with 
his powerful fleet he carried the war into Macedonia. The 
advice was excellent and had it been acted upon complications 
in Europe might have made it necessary for Alexander to 
return. But the ignorance and pride of the Persians prevented 
them from taking Memnon's advice, and they drew up their 
army on the bank of the river Granicus, determined to contest 
the passage of a paltry stream, after allowing their enemy to 
cross the broad Hellespont without let or hindrance. 

The Persians fought well, for their nobles had no lack of 



504 GEBECE 

courage, but their weapons were useless against the long 
Macedonian pike, and after Alexander had crossed the river, 
and could fight on equal ground, the battle was over. The 
moral effect of this first victory was great. The conqueror had 
now but to advance, and the cities opened their gates. Miletus 
and Halicarnassus resisted for a time, the resistance being 
organised by Memnon who had escaped from the Granicus 
and might have given Alexander trouble had he lived. Un- 
333. fortunately for Persia he died, and after his death Darius fell 
back upon the fatal policy of pitched battles. 

Meanwhile Alexander went round Asia Minor, subduing 
the cities and meeting with little resistance in a country 
which abounded in difficult passes and might have been made 
almost impossible for an invader. Darius, on the other hand, 
concentrated the forces of the empire in the plains of Northern 
Syria, gathering a vast army well fitted to do battle with 
Asiatics ; but, against the Macedonian phalanx, merely sheep 
for the slaughter. 

Alexander came rapidly on, traversing the passes of Mount 
Taurus, and expecting to meet Darius on the plains of Syria 
where his army had been collected. Having neglected to hold 
the passes, the next best thing for Darius to do was to await 
Alexander on the plain where the Persian cavalry would have 
a chance of manoeuvring, but instead of doing this Darius 
abandoned his vantage-ground and marched to Issus where in 
a narrow and rugged valley his cavalry were useless and his 
numbers gave him no advantage. The result was the utter 
rout of the Persians, of whom 30,000 were slain. Darius 
escaped across the Euphrates, but his camp was captured. 
His family also fell into the hands of the conqueror, by 
whom they were retained as hostages. 

Alexander had now to choose whether he should pursue 
Darius, or turn southward into Phoenicia and Egypt and 
conquer the coast provinces before plunging into the interior. 
He wisely chose the latter course, and for a time met with 
uniform success and little opposition, many cities such as 



ALEXANDEK THE GEEAT 505 

Damascus and Sidon surrendering without a blow. The 
inhabitants of Tyre were also willing to submit ; but when 
Alexander insisted on entering the city, the Tyrians, fearing 
he would garrison it, refused to admit him. The city was 
built on an island, was well fortified, had an excellent fleet, 
and was famous for withstanding long sieges, so that the 
confidence of the people is not to be wondered at. As 
Alexander had no fleet, he built a mole across the channel, 
but met with so desperate a resistance in the work that he 
had to impress the fleets of Cyprus and Sidon before he could 
reach the walls of the city. At last the mole was finished, and 
after a seven months' siege Tyre was taken by assault. 332. 

Whilst the siege of Tyre was in progress, ambassadors 
came from Darius to propose conditions of peace, offering 
10,000 talents and all the empire west of the Euphrates if 
Alexander would leave him the rest. When Alexander re- 
fused, Darius perceived that no reasonable terms would be 
accepted, and determined to make one more effort to save his 
empire. 

Alexander had now marched southward to Egypt. On his 
way he passed Gaza, a city which, undeterred by the fate 
of Tyre, held out bravely for three or four months. This 
obstinacy exasperated Alexander, and after the capture of the 
city he dragged Batis the brave governor behind his chariot 
until he was dead. 

After the fall of Gaza, opposition in that quarter ceased. 
Egypt hailed the conqueror as a deliverer from the hateful 
rule of Persia, and the Jews paid him homage. During his 
residence in Egypt Alexander made a pilgrimage to the famous 
temple of Jupiter Amon where the priests hailed him as more 
than mortal, and he was foolish enough to believe them. 

Having mastered the seaboard, and there being now no 
hostile fleet on the iEgean, Alexander fearlessly marched to 
seek Darius in the very heart of his empire. After crossing 
the Euphrates and Tigris he found the king at Arbela with 
another vast army. This time Darius resolved to fight on the 



506 GEEECE 

plain, and his troops did better than at Issus. But the result 
was the same. King and army were soon in headlong flight 
and the Persian empire was at an end. 

331 . Alexander entered Babylon in triumph. Like the Egyptians, 

the Babylonians had not taken kindly to their conquerors, 
and made no difficulty about accepting him in their place. 
After a month's rest the army marched towards Susa, which 
at once surrendered. There Alexander obtained immense 
treasure, and from thence he marched to Persepolis, a city 
of great splendour which he gave up to pillage and de- 
struction. He then started in earnest after Darius, who fled 
with a handful of followers from Ecbatana eastward by the 
Caspian towards Bactria. Alexander followed with such 
rapidity that the wretched fugitive's spirit was broken and 
he would fly no farther. Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, a 
noble of royal blood who aspired to the throne, ordered his 
followers to slay the king. Accordingly they flung their 
javelins at him and fled ; and when Alexander came up, 
shortly afterwards, he found that death had robbed him of 
his prize. 

330, The conquerer now set himself to subjugate the outlying 

provinces of the empire. First he reduced the tribes near the 
Caspian ; then marched east and south through Persia and 
Afghanistan ; then north into Bokhara. He is said to have 
founded the cities of Herat, Candahar and Cabul. Bessus, 
who had intended to show fight in his province of Bactria, 
was betrayed into the hands of his enemy, and put to death 
with barbarity. 

Whilst staying in Drangina, Alexander tortured and exe- 
cuted Philotas, the son of his leading general Parmenio, whom 
he had left as governor of Ecbatana. The pretext was con- 
spiracy ; the real reason was that Philotas had ridiculed the 
idea of his supernatural birth, and had declared that he owed 
much of his success to the exertions of his father and himself. 
Having killed the son, Alexander dared not leave the father 
alive, and had him assassinated. 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 507 

Somewhat later Alexander had another opportunity of 328. 
showing his ungovernable spirit. Whilst banqueting with 
his officers, some of whom in Asiatic fashion were using 
fulsome flattery, Clitus, one of his greatest friends, upbraided 
them and spoke some very plain words on the subject. When 
Alexander became angry with him for his candour, Clitus 
said, "Recollect that you owe your life to me; this hand 
preserved you at the Granicus, listen to truth, or else abstain 
from asking free men to supper, and confine yourself to the 
society of slaves ". Alexander, who like the rest was half 
drunk, sprang from his seat and transfixed him with a javelin. 
It was well said that his marches were fatal to his enemies, 
his halts fatal to his friends. 

The character of the conqueror rapidly deteriorated under 
the influence of prosperity. He put on the style of an Oriental 
monarch, started a harem in which his chief wife was Roxana, 
daughter of a Bactrian nobleman, dressed as an Oriental, levied 
Oriental troops, and surrounded himself with Oriental courtiers 
whose obsequiousness was more to his taste than the plain 
speech of his European generals. 

Having reduced Asia northward as far as the Jaxartes, he 327, 
determined to invade India. He crossed the Indus and the 
Jelum, and advanced as far as the Sutlej, but this river his 
soldiers flatly refused to cross so that he had to return to the 
Jelum. Determined to explore it to its mouth, he divided his 
forces into three parts, two portions marching along the banks 
whilst the third portion sailed down the river. After a nine 
months' voyage they reached the Indian Ocean. Alexander 
now turned his face towards Babylon and divided his army 
into three parts, the main body taking the regular caravan 
road through Candahar, Nearchus proceeding with another 
section to Babylon by sea, whilst Alexander himself sought a 
new route through the deserts of Beloochistan. His section 
of the army suffered terribly from want of food and water, 
but at last the survivors reached Persepolis, and proceeding from 
thence to Susa, he gave himself and his army a complete rest. 



508 GEEECE 

325. At Susa there was much festivity, and the king became 

increasingly Oriental in his habits, trying to introduce many 
innovations amongst his European soldiers in spite of growing 
discontent. The discontent broke into open mutiny at Opis ; 
and though a reconciliation was effected, 10,000 veterans were 
sent back to Europe. 

Alexander evidently aimed at Hellenising the Persian 
empire. He had no intention of returning to the hard life 
and poor fare of Macedonia ; he meant Babylon to be his 
capital, and desired to weld the Greek and Oriental world. 
He did not realise how greatly physical energy was a question 
of climate, and how soon the Macedonians had they continued 
to reside in Asia would have lost the qualities which made 
them conquerors. Apparently he had no intention of interfer- 
ing with Persian methods of government, for the Macedonians 
were accustomed to despotic rule, and Alexander doubtless 
considered Persian centralisation greatly superior to Greek 
autonomy. 

His mind being still bent on conquest, he determined on an 
expedition against Arabia, and ordered a fleet to be prepared 
for that purpose. 

On his way from Susa to Babylon he was met by embassies 
from many states offering congratulations — Carthage, Rome, 
Ethiopia, Scythia and Gaul amongst the rest. Whilst waiting 
at Babylon and almost on the point of starting for the Arabian 
expedition, he spent some time exploring the delta and planning 
harbours and canals, and in the midst of this useful work caught 
malarial fever. He neglected it, or apparently tried to master 
it by hard drinking, but it increased, and on the eleventh day 
323. he died. When the soldiers heard that he was dying they 
pressed into the palace, and many of them were allowed to 
file past his death-bed. He was too far gone to speak, but 
indicated his knowledge of their presence by moving his hand. 
He was only thirty -two years of age when he died, and his 
stirring reign had lasted for but thirteen years. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE END OF THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. 

The sudden death of the conqueror seemed certain to be 323. 
followed by confusion, for there was no one ready to succeed 
him, and his generals were masterful men — each likely to push 
his own claim. Councils were, however, at once held, and 
after much debate an arrangement was come to which pre- 
served the peace for a time. The king left no legitimate 
offspring, though a posthumous son was afterwards born to 
him by Roxana. His half-brother Aridseus was in the camp 
and although not a man of much ability he was nominated 
king for the time being, the rights of Roxana's child being 
protected. The satrapies were then divided amongst twelve 
generals — Egypt falling to Ptolemy, Syria to Laomedon, Cilicia 
to Philotas, Pamphylia, Lycia and Phrygia to Antigonus, Caria 
to Asander, Lydia to Menander, Hellespontine Phrygia to Leon- 
natus, Cappadocia to Eumenes, Media to Pithon, Thrace to 
Lysimachus, Macedonia and Greece to Antipater and Craterus 
jointly. All of these were, in theory, to administer under 
Aridseus, Perdiccas being made his prime minister and guardian 
of the infant child of Roxana. 

The body of the conqueror was embalmed and carried on a 
funeral car of great magnificence from Babylon to Egypt for 
burial. 

It would be profitless to follow the intrigues of the next 

few years. Suffice it to say that after many wars and 

much assassination the empire became divided into three 

principal kingdoms, Asia, Egypt and Macedonia. 

Asia fell under the power of the descendants of Seleucus, 

(509) 



510 GEEECE 

one of Alexander's generals whose name does not appear in 
the original scheme of distribution. The kings were not strong- 
enough to keep their kingdoms entire ; the Jews, the Parthians 
and others became independent states, whilst some of the 
islands formed themselves into a maritime league. At length 
only Syria was left to the Seleucidee, their capital being 

63. Antioch, and after varied fortunes their dominions were 
absorbed into the Roman empire. 

Egypt fell to Ptolemy, a favourite general, and some think 
the half-brother of Alexander. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt for 
three centuries, and the first three kings of the dynasty were 
the best rulers Egypt ever had. Under them Alexandria 
prospered, and as a centre of learning took in some measure 
the place of Athens, though nothing was ever written in 
Alexandria to compare with the works of the Athenians. 
The last of the dynastjr was the famous Cleopatra, with whose 

30. death the great line came to an end, and Egypt became a Roman 
province. 

The European section of the empire had fallen to Antipater 
and Craterus, and when they died there was a contest for the 
succession in the course of which Roxana, the widow of Alex- 
ander, his posthumous son Alexander, Olympias his mother, 
Philip his half-brother, and Eurydice the wife of Philip were 
all slain, so that at last no representative of the family was 
left alive. There were afterwards various contests for the 
crown in Macedonia, and at one time Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 
whose name has already been mentioned in connection with 
Sicily, united the kingdoms of Epirus and Macedon. Pyrrhus 
was an able general who resembled Alexander in some points, 
but lacked his power of concentration and in the end achieved 
little. 

289. In the third century Macedonia suffered from Celtic in- 

vasions. The first was under Belgius who ravaged far and 

278. wide. The second was under Brennus who got through 
Thermopylae and as far as Delphi, where he sustained a 
crushing defeat, his army being broken into bands, of 



THE END OF THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE 511 

which some crossed into Asia and formed the province of 
Galatia. 

After the death of Pyrrhus and the defeat of the Celts 272. 
Macedonia became more settled, and the dynasty founded by 
Antigonus, one of Alexander's generals, held the throne. 
Philip, one of the members of this dynasty, was king at the 
time of the second war between Rome and Carthage, and 
even made alliance with Hannibal, but was attacked by the 197. 
Romans and defeated at Cynoscephalee after which Macedonia 
ceased to have any control over the Greek states. 

Later, when Perseus was king of Macedonia, there was 171. 
again war with Rome. Perseus fought well for a time, 
but was at last overthrown at Pydna, and the last king of 168. 
Macedonia was led in a Roman triumph. A few years later 146. 
Macedonia with the rest of Greece became a Roman province. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE FATE OP SOUTHERN GREECE. 

334. When Alexander embarked on his career of Asiatic conquest, 
he had professed to be leader of united Greece, and commander- 
in-chief of the forces of the confederation. In spite of this 
there were few southern Greeks who wished him well ; and 
had Darius been far-seeing enough to work upon that senti- 
ment, he could have made Alexander's task in Asia doubly 
hard. Many of the Greeks believed that he would be beaten 
in Asia, but after the battles of Issus and Arbela all hope of 
that passed away. Sparta, indeed, had never yielded to the 
pretensions of Macedonia. Her delegates had not attended the 
congresses ; and, even after Arbela, King Agis raised a revolt 
in Peloponnesus against the Macedonians, but was defeated by 
Antipater and slain. 

During this period the tone at Athens had been pacific. 
Phocion, whose sympathies were Macedonian, led the Assembly, 

324. and Demosthenes, who opposed him, was exiled for a time. 
The death of Alexander produced a great effect ; and in spite 
of the remonstrances of Phocion, an anti- Macedonian con- 
federacy was formed, and Demosthenes recalled. It is not 
necessary to blame Athens for this, for the time seemed ripe 
for revolt. Nevertheless it would have been better had she 
waited. At first the confederate army was successful, but it 
was defeated in the end and Athens lay at the mercy of Anti- 
pater. He pardoned the citizens generally, but demanded the 
surrender of certain leaders, amongst whom was Demosthenes. 
They fled, but Antipater hunted them down, and one by one 

they were captured and cruelly slain. Demosthenes escaped 

(512) 



THE FATE OF SOUTHEEN GEEECE 513 

to the island of Calauria, and when tracked by his enemies 
took refuge in the temple of Poseidon. Finding that sanctuary 
would not avail, and rather than suffer the degradation 
Antipater would have heaped upon him, the great orator took 322. 
poison and died. Demosthenes was a sincere man and an earnest 
patriot, and had Athens listened to his advice at the beginning 
its history might have been different, for he saw the danger 
looming from Macedonia before it became too great to be 
turned away. At a later period, when the mischief was done, 
he would have better consulted the interest of Athens had he 
accepted the inevitable. 

After the death of Demosthenes Phocion led in Athens. 
He had strong Macedonian leanings, and had been a consistent 
opponent of Demosthenes, but he was an upright man and 
acted generally in the interests of peace. To one who tauntingly 
asked him when it would be wise for Athenians to go to 
war, he said, " When the young are willing to keep their ranks, 
the rich to contribute of their wealth, and the orators to 
abstain from pilfering the public money ". At length, at the 
age of eighty-five, he was overtaken by the common lot of the 317. 
public men of that time, being impeached and executed. 

For half a century after this there was much confusion in 
Greece, the cities being mostly ruled by despots nominated by 
Macedonia. An effort was made to get rid of the despots, and 250. 
two leagues grew up, the Achaean and the iEtolian, by means 
of which something like freedom was restored to Southern 
Greece. The Achaean league was a revival of an ancient one 
and was joined by Athens, iEgina, and many Peloponnesian 
cities. Sparta as usual held aloof, but her power had waned. 240. 
At one time a young king Agis IV. made an attempt to reform 
the state by giving the poor a share in the lands, but he was 
killed for his pains. Cleomenes, his successor, carried on his 
methods, and Sparta revived for a time, and even fought suc- 
cessfully against the Achaean league, but at last Cleomenes was 
defeated at the battle of Sellasia, and Sparta itself captured, 221. 
after which it fell into insignificance. 

33 



514 GREECE 

The iEtolian league was formed amongst the less-cultured 
states north of the Gulf of Corinth, and embraced the Phocians, 
Locrians and Boeotians, so that Greece was in great measure 
divided between the Achaean and iEtolian leagues. Un- 
fortunately the leagues were not content with resisting 
foreign foes, but must needs in true Greek fashion quarrel 
amongst themselves. The Macedonians had constituted them- 
selves protectors of the Achaean league, but when Philip V. 
ascended the throne of Macedonia at the age of seventeen the 
vEtolians thought they might attack the Achaeans with im- 
punitjr. Philip, however, came to the rescue ; and young 
though he was, defeated the iEtolians. His conduct of this 
war gained him reputation and so inflamed his ambition that 

216. he tampered with Hannibal and the Carthaginians and possibly 
even contemplated an invasion of Italy, but his schemes were 

197. abruptly overthrown at Cynoscephalae. From this time the 
Romans began to interfere more in the affairs of Greece, and 
were appealed to by the various states. 

At length Sparta was attacked by the Achaean League, 
and sought the help of Rome. Commissioners went across 
but were badly received, so Rome declared war and sent 
an army under Mummius which overthrew the forces of 
the league near Corinth. This city itself was captured and 
destroyed with most of its priceless treasures and works of 
art. After this act of vandalism Mummius subjugated the 

146. whole of Greece, and it was absorbed into the Roman empire, 
being thenceforward officially known as Achaia, thus com- 
memorating the name of the league identified with the last 
Greek struggle for political freedom. Macedonia was finally 
made a Roman province the same year. 

Although much has to be recorded in connection with 
Greek history which is unsatisfactory, we can hardly over- 
estimate the obligation which the civilised world is under to 
Greece. The disunion of the Greeks was their ruin, but this 
very disunion arose in part from excess of mental activity 
and a spirit of independence, which, though fatal to combined 



THE FATE OF SOUTHERN GREECE 515 

effort, helped them to do service to the world in many ways. 
When we read their political history we lose patience with 
them ; but when we consider their writings and works of art, 
we can see how great they really were. Nor is it only in the 
fields of literature and art that the world is under obligation 
to Greece. The early colonising enterprise of the Greeks and 
the conquests of Alexander in later years had a wide influence 
on civilisation. In innumerable cities both in Europe and 
Asia, the Greek language was spoken, Greek books were read, 
and Greek customs prevailed. Thus many civilising influences 
were set on foot, the effect of which the world has not even 
yet ceased to feel. Finally, the remarkable way in which 
the Greek language spread throughout Western Asia, Eastern 
Europe and Palestine, led to its being used as the channel 
through which there was distributed to humanity the greatest 
civilising influence of all — the gospel of the grace of God. 



ROME. 



ROME. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE CITY. 

The lovely peninsula which stretches from the centre of 
Europe into the Mediterranean, and which we now call Italy, 
seems to have been colonised later than many other parts of 
Europe. Its northern frontier is well guarded by lofty moun- 
tain ranges ; and the primitive tribes, as they spread from Asia 
across Europe, knowing nothing of the beautiful land beyond 
the snow-clad mountains, passed it by for a time. Nor was 
Italy much more accessible by sea in those days. The great 
traders of the early world were the Phoenicians, who from 
their ports on the shores of Canaan sent forth ships beyond 
the Straits of Gibraltar, more than a thousand years before 
our era. But the ships were of small size and coasted as much 
as they could, and although Italy was not far from Phoenicia 
as the crow flies, their sailors would have had to coast a 
prodigious distance before reaching it. Thus although they 
soon became acquainted with Greece and the islands of the 
iEgean, and had numerous settlements along the coast of 
Northern Africa, they did not get to know much of Italy 
until they had built Utica and Carthage, from which cities 
the peninsula could be easily approached. For these reasons 
therefore it happens that Italy is, comparatively speaking, a 
modern country and remarkable for its lack of very ancient 
relics, and that Rome is the last unit in the cycle of ancient 

history. 

(519) 



520 ROME 

The Italy with which the early history of Rome is con- 
cerned, did not comprise the whole peninsula but was bounded 
on the north by the Apennines ; and the territory between 
the Apennines and the Alps traversed by the River Po, now 
known as Lombardy and formerly as Gallia Cisalpina, was 
not added to the Roman dominion until many centuries after 
the founding of the city. 

Of the tribes which settled south of the Apennines, the 
Etruscans, Latins and Sabines were the most important. 
The Etruscans occupied the west coast, between the Apennines 
and the Tiber ; the Latins were on the same coast, south of 
the Tiber ; whilst the Sabines dwelt in the mountainous dis- 
tricts of Central Italy. The Sabines were the same kind of 
people as the Latins, and, under favourable circumstances, 
mixed easily with them ; but the Etruscans were a different 
race and remained a foreign people to the end. The Etruscans 
are a puzzle to historians, who are not even yet sure of their 
origin. They were a powerful nation when Rome was in its 
infancy ; they gave to the city her three last kings ; and some 
of the best pieces of work done for Rome in her early days 
bear signs of Etruscan origin. Had they been more united 
they could have absorbed Latium, but they remained a loose 
confederacy making little concentrated effort. They were 
pirates and raiders ; but the raiding was done by chiefs who 
fought each for his own hand, and not with a view to extend- 
ing the national territory. On the sea they were at home, 
whether as merchants or corsairs. They entered at times into 
treaty with the Carthaginians, and the two powers between 
them did all they could to check Greek colonial expansion in 
the Western Mediterranean. In early times the Etruscans 
dominated Northern Italy, but their power was steadily en- 
croached on by the pressure of the Celtic race in the north, 
and the growing power of Rome in the south. They died 
hard however. The last Roman kings, and the only ones of 
historical consequence were Etruscan chiefs. These were ex- 
pelled, and Etruscan influence was never afterwards much felt 



THE OEIGIN OF THE CITY 521 

in Rome ; but the race remained foreign and hostile, nor was 
there any lasting peace until it had lost its national identity. 

The Sabines were a hardy highland race, brave and 
honourable, and after the decline of the Etruscan power they 
were for a time the greatest people in Italy. The Sabines 
were migratory in their habits, and many of the smaller tribes 
the Marsi, Vestini, Hirpini, Frentani and others were offshoots 
from them. But the greatest offshoot of all was the Samnite. 
The Samnites settled in Central Italy towards the south, and 
were the most formidable enemies the Romans had to en- 
counter in Italy, fighting for freedom with extraordinary 
tenacity. Even as late as 82 B.C. a Samnite army, 40,000 
strong, marched upon Rome, but was defeated by Sulla, 
after which the Samnite towns were laid waste, their in- 
habitants sold as slaves, and their places filled by Roman 
•colonists. 

There were many Greek settlements in Italy, and some of 
them developed into important cities. The Greeks were ardent 
colonisers, and soon found out the advantages which Italy 
possessed ; and, as the peninsula was within easy sailing dis- 
tance, frequent immigrations took place. Amongst the cities 
founded were : Sybaris, at one time the largest city in Italy ; 
Tarentum, an important city with widely extended commerce ; 
Neapolis, Cumae, Locri, Rhegium and many others. So firm 
a footing did the Greeks obtain in Southern Italy that it was 
called Magna Graecia; and when Rome was yet feeble the 
Greeks were already a power in Italy and were competing 
with the Etruscans and Carthaginians for the sovereignty of 
the Western Mediterranean. Latium, that part of Italy with 
which we are more immediately concerned, was a territory 
of small extent, bounded on the north by the Tiber, on the 
east by the Apennines, on the south by Campania, on the west 
by the Mediterranean, but as conquests extended, the name 
Latin was used to denote others besides the old Latins of 
Latium. The latter were a thriving agricultural people and are 
said to have formed a confederacy of thirty cities of which Alba 



522 EOME 

Longa was the chief. Alba Longa was situated in the north 
of Latium, due west from the place where Rome was eventu- 
ally built ; and, as it stretched along the side of a lake, its 
name probably testified to its appearance, " the long white 
town ". Although it was probably the largest town and the 
federal centre, there is no reason to believe that it exercised 
any special control over the rest; each community was in- 
dependent, but kinship, and the need to defend themselves 
against common enemies drew them together. 

This, then, was the condition of Italy seven or eight 
centuries before the Christian era, at the time when we speak 
of Rome as having been founded. And now passing to the 
city itself, it is to be remembered that at one period in its 
history (390 B.C.) it was burnt to the ground by the Gauls^ 
the Capitol only being saved, and that in the conflagration 
such documents as may have existed were destroyed. The 
early period therefore presents great difficulty to historians,, 
nevertheless by careful sifting of tradition, and patient com- 
parison and inference, a history of Rome has been built up 
which in its main outlines is probably not far from the 
truth. 

In order to get a fair start with Roman history we must 
divest our minds of much which is manifestly fabulous. As 
regards the foundation of the city for instance, concerning 
which we have such a circumstantial account, we may assume 
that in the ordinary meaning of the term it was never founded 
at all. It is, generally speaking, absurd to talk of the founda- 
tion of a city. Doubtless a few cities have been built by 
kings who thought thereby to perpetuate their names, but 
these were mostly unnatural productions which soon came to 
nought. Cities that have lasted and become great have not 
been founded but have grown. Kings may have expended 
them, and beautified them, and given them new names, but 
they grew up because they were needed. We must therefore 
dismiss from our minds the tales about iEneas and the 
Trojans, about Romulus, Remus and the like. These stories 



THE OEIGIN OF THE CITY 523 

are based on the assumption that far-seeing men designed the 
city before it came into being. This rarely happens. Who 
ever thought of London when men threw their nets into the 
Thames and found the place handy for fishing, or of New 
York when a few Dutchmen built their log huts at the mouth 
of the Hudson ? These cities were not founded, they grew 
up of themselves. With the tradition of Romulus must also be 
dismissed the legend that the Etruscans, Sabines and Latins 
came together and determined to found a city, or again that 
Rome was founded by a colony from Alba. All these theories 
assume that Rome as a city was in contemplation from the 
beginning, and we may be sure that this was not so. 

Rome probably came into being in very simple fashion. 
First a few fishermen settled there. The place was not healthy, 
but it had advantages. The marshes made a splendid fishing- 
ground, and the fishermen found that by living on the low 
hills they could escape malaria and protect themselves against 
enemies. Then it was doubtless found that the spot was 
handy as a market, where the folk from the neighbouring 
villages could meet and barter wares. Then the advantage 
of being near the mouth of the Tiber and yet far enough up 
to be safe from pirates was felt, and so the huts became a 
village, and the village a town, and the town a mighty city 
which gained first the sovereignty of Italy, and thereafter the 
empire of the world. 

Where Rome was built, the Tiber flows north and south, 
and Rome stands on the eastern bank. It was built on low 
hills, which became known respectively as the Palatine, 
Capitoline, Quirinal, Coelian, Aventine, Esquiline and Viminal. 
Tradition states, and it is reasonable to believe, that each of 
these hills had in early times its own separate settlement, 
protected by a rude fortification, and that these settlements 
were slowly fused into a single city which was called 
Rome, not from Romulus, but possibly from the ancient name 
of the Tiber, which was " Rumon ". 

Tradition also tells that the peoples who thus united were 



524 EOME 

of three races, the Etruscan, the Sabine and the Latin. There 
is no evidence to justify the contention that any Tuscan 
element entered into the formation of Rome, but it is quite 
likely that one of the settlements on the hills was Sabine. 
The Sabines were nearly related to the Latins, and mingled 
easily, and the tradition that Sabine invaders held the Quirinal 
Hill, and united with the rest, is likely enough to be correct. 
But they left no distinctive trace in Roman development, 
which is a Latin development, pure and simple. 

Tradition has it also that the Roman people were formed 
out of a union of three tribes or cantons, the Ramnes, 
Tities and Luceres ; of whom the Tities are said to have been 
753, of Sabine origin. The date popularly fixed for the founda- 
tion of the city is 753 B.C., and as the oldest tombs in Rome 
seem to belong to the eighth century the date is near enough 
for practical purposes. 



CHAPTER II. 

WHAT THE ROMANS WERE LIKE. 

The early Romans were men much like ourselves — a hard- 
working, practical people. It is well to realise this, for when 
we fancy that the ancients moved in stilted fashion like 
actors on a stage, we lose much of the teaching of history. 
The early Romans were just folk like ourselves, sore put to it 
at times to make an honest living, and though many of their 
customs differed from ours, they had also many things in 
common. 

Their legal conceptions were simple, but correct, and as the 
city developed, Roman law also developed on such lines that 
it fhas lived to the present day, and is the basis of law in 
Scotland, France and other countries. For law the Romans 
had a great respect, and though their system was severe 
and inelastic, yet the binding nature of contract, the sanctity 
of property, and other principles, essential to civilisation, 
were clearly laid down. 

On religious matters they were of course greatly in the 

dark, yet we must not think that they were all without God, 

or that the " light which lighteth every man that cometh into 

the world " failed to shine in Rome. At first they were not 

image- worshippers, but they believed in many gods, and every 

action of life or incident of nature had its presiding deity. 

Their religion was of a practical and utilitarian order : lacking 

the artistic and poetic elements so developed amongst the 

Greeks. To the Roman, the gods were beings to be propitiated, 

agents for the attainment of earthly rather than spiritual 

ends ; and thus viewed, religion sank with them to a low level 

(525) 



526 EOME 

and became little better than "a dreary round of ceremonies ". 
The principal Roman gods represented abstract ideas : Jupiter 
was the ideal of manhood, Juno of womanhood, Mars of war- 
like force, Ceres of production, Venus of beauty, and so on. 
At first images were discouraged and even temples were not 
essential, but as time went on their ideas found expression in 
images and they built temples like the rest. Like most 
idolaters they were tolerant of the gods of others, recognising 
them as only less important than their own ; and when they 
conquered a city they added its patron deity to their Pantheon, 
believing that in this way they increased their strength. For 
a similar reason they were careful not to pronounce the name 
of the tutelary spirit of their own community, lest an enemy 
hearing it might try to entice away their god. 

In matters relating to the family, the Roman laws and 
customs were very peculiar, and were based upon the usages 
of patriarchal times. In those days families did not scatter as 
they now do, but lived together from generation to generation, 
the oldest male ancestor being reverenced by the rest and 
treated as supreme within the household. This was the 
general method amongst the ancients, but no other nation 
carried out the idea with the logical severity which obtained at 
Rome. There the male ancestor, father or grandfather as the case 
might be, was supreme over his descendants both as regarded 
property and person. In early times he might kill a child if 
he chose — there was no law against it ; and though public 
opinion prevented it, except in extreme cases, the story of 
Virginia shows that the act was not impossible. The head 
or paterfamilias had also power over the property of the rest. 
Everything was vested in him, nor could the younger members 
of the family claim even their earnings. Viewed from a 
modern standpoint this seems strange enough, but where 
families lived in patriarchal fashion it prevented discord, and 
amounted to little more than this, that all goods were held in 
common, and that the paterfamilias was trustee for the rest. 
Nor was the arrangement so onesided as it seemed, for if the 



WHAT THE ROMANS WERE LIKE 527 

descendant had less independence he had more security. If he 
were turned out of the family, either at his request or for gross 
misconduct, he doubtless gained independence, but he lost his 
share of the inheritance. As time went on, however, these laws 
were found unworkable, and sons were gradually allowed to 
possess property of their own, so that their condition became 
more like what it would be in modern times. 

About the time when Rome became big enough to need 
municipal government it consisted of districts where families 
were still living in this clannish way, and the members of 
the clans and their descendants were the first custodians of 
political power. But as Rome enlarged and other settlers 
came who were not members of these " first families," difficulties 
arose, for the new settlers were not considered Roman citizens, 
the patricians, as the "first families" were called, pretending 
that they were better than the rest, and had a sacred, hereditary 
right to rule the city. The later arrivals were called plebeians, 
that is the multitude, in opposition to the patricians, and as 
we go on we shall find that the history of Rome, so far as 
home affairs are concerned, is for many years the history of a 
contest between patricians and plebeians, that is, between the 
privileged and the non-privileged classes. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MONAECHY. 

753. The first two and a half centuries of Roman history are 
reckoned the period of the monarchy, and there are said to have 
been seven kings in that time, though probably there were 
many more. Of the seven whose names are generally mentioned 
in Roman histories, the first four, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, 
Tullus Hostilius and Ancus Martius, cannot be looked upon 
as historic characters. Nevertheless, from the nature of the 
traditions we may infer that Rome was governed by kings 
in early times, and that they had often to defend themselves 
against their warlike neighbours. At this time Roman terri- 
tory was not extensive — it stretched in a landward direction 
from the city only about five miles, but seaward it extended 
fifteen miles, as far as the mouth of the Tiber, where Ostia, 
the port of Rome, was built. 

616. The three kings remaining out of the seven may be con- 

sidered historical. These kings, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius 
Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus, were not Latins, but 
Etruscans. It does not follow from this that Rome was under 
the dominion of Etruria. The Etruscans were at this time 
powerful, and had sway in the plains of Lombardy as well as 
in their own special region of the peninsula, but there is no 
evidence that Etruria ever dominated Rome. Ambitious 
Etruscan chiefs were given to raiding, and where they conquered 
they ruled, and this may have happened in Rome. But it does 
not necessarily follow that Tarquin gained his position by 
force of arms, for there was a tradition that he was guardian 

to the children of the former king, and was elected his 

(528) 



THE MONARCHY 529 

successor by the people. But in whatever way the Etruscan 
kings gained the throne, whether by election or by the strong 
right arm, they proved useful rulers. 

The Etruscans seem to have been much in advance of the 
Romans in art, manufacture and engineering, and the rule 
of the Etruscan kings contrasted brilliantly with that of their 
predecessors. Rome was built on low hills jutting into level 
and marshy meadows through which the Tiber flowed. The 
hills were first built upon, but as the population increased it 
became necessary to utilise all available space, and the draining 
of the low-lying marshy ground became a matter of importance. 
The Etruscan kings faced the difficulty, beginning a system of 
main drainage which was restored and extended at a later period, 
and was so well constructed that it has helped to drain the lower 
parts of the city from that day to this. On a portion of the 
ground thus reclaimed, the Forum and Circus were built, 
whilst on the Capitoline Mount a massive temple was erected. 

During the Etruscan period the city was surrounded by a 
rampart known as the Servian Wall, the building of which 
is attributed to Servius Tullius, the second of the kings. Up 
to this time there had been rivalry between the dwellers on 
the several mounts. The people who lived on the Quirinal 
were called " Hill Romans," and those on the Palatine " Mount 
Romans " ; and each mount kept up a degree of independence. 
But after the Servian Wall was built they became more united, 
so that the building of the Servian Wall may be looked upon 
as the starting-point of the Rome of our imagination. 

It is most probable that Rome advanced commercially under 
Etruscan rule. Though the Romans were in early times 
essentially an agricultural community, yet, as the emporium 
for Latium, the city must have had many articles to give in 
exchange for manufactured products, and doubtless traded 
largely in grain, wine, raisins, olives, copper, silver, iron 
timber and salt. 

The Etruscan kings carried out various important reforms. 

Rome had been dominated by the patricians, who monopolised 

34 



530 EOME 

the offices of state and were supreme in Senate, Assembly and 
army. The first great reform attributed to Servius Tullius, 
had reference to the army. The early rule had been that each 
tribe should contribute 1,000 men to the infantry and 100 to 
the cavalry. This number had become too small for the growing- 
state, and TarquiniusPriscus, the first of the Etruscan kings, after 
vainly endeavouring to persuade the patricians to increase the 
number of tribes, doubled the strength of the army without 
altering the tribal arrangement. Now, however, that conquest 
and immigration had increased the size of the community, this 
plan of raising the army had become antiquated, and Servius 
Tullius made property the basis of service, included all land- 
holders under Roman jurisdiction, and classified them according 
to their means. 

In the first class were the rich, who could afford to buy 
heavy armour, and had therefore the distinction of standing 
in the front ranks of the army and bearing the brunt of the 
attack. The second class were armed less heavily, the third 
yet less, but these were all reckoned "heavy infantry ". Be- 
hind them stood the fourth and fifth classes, who served as 
light-armed troops. The cavalry was also increased, but it 
retained its tribal character, and being recruited from the 
wealthiest class it remained the elite section of the army. By 
this arrangement the force was so increased that Servius 
Tullius could muster 80,000 men, each bearing arms accord- 
ing to his means, men similarly armed drilling together and 
serving in centuries, that is, companies of 100 men. 

The new method of levying the army became the basis of 
a new assembly, the " Comitia Centuriata ". Hitherto the 
citizens had been divided into "curiae," each curia composed 
of kinsmen and neighbours, and had met in an assembly called 
the " Comitia Curiata " and voted by their curiae, the vote of 
each curia being decided by the majority, and a majority of 
the curiae settling the question. The Comitia Centuriata which 
did not supersede the Comitia Curiata, but cast it into the 
.shade, included all freeholders, and by its method of voting 



THE MONARCHY 531 

gave a preponderating influence to wealth. At the same time 
the Senate was strengthened by the addition of 100 members, 
chosen from the leading families of the Latin states, recently 
conquered and absorbed by Rome. 

As the early tribal division did not lend itself to these new 
arrangements, Servius divided the people into four wards, 
the names of which, Palatina, Esquilina, Suburana and Collina 
were taken from the divisions of the city, though they included 
also the districts outside Rome. As these divisions were de- 
termined by locality they embraced all within their boundaries, 
whereas the tribal divisions based upon relationship had made 
no provision for new-comers. 

The popularity of Servius Tullius at last began to wane. 
His public works, though beneficial, had been costly, and his 
reforms raised up enemies. The aristocracy had been benefited 
materially by the wider distribution of burdens which had 
formerly fallen exclusively upon their shoulders, but they 
had been depressed socially, for the Etruscan kings, after the 
manner of alien monarchs, had paid little attention to their 
wishes, and had not hesitated to favour men who did not 
belong to the first families, if only they thought they would 
be useful servants. This raised the wrath of the patricians, 
and Servius Tullius was assassinated and succeeded by 
Tarquin the Second, surnamed " the proud ". 

Tarquinius Superbus was a tyrant whose hand lay heavily 
upon all classes, but he was a great warrior, and his rule 
extended widely over Latium . He also conquered the Volscians, 
and established Roman colonies amongst the vanquished in 
order to keep them in subjection. During his reign, therefore, 
Rome became more powerful, but he made enemies at home ; 
and, whilst absent besieging Ardea, he was deposed, and the 
monarchy abolished, apparently by general consent. 

On receiving the news of his deposition, Tarquin set out 
for Rome with picked troops, but finding that the gates 
were shut against him, and that the revolution was serious, 
he retired to Caere in Etruria. 



532 EOME 

We are told that three attempts were made by him to 
recover his throne. First he marched upon Rome at the head 
of the men of Veii and Tarquinii, and fought a fierce battle on 
the frontier, but was defeated. A year later, it is said that 
Lars Porsena, the overlord of Etruria, took up his cause, 
reached the very gates of Rome, and besieged the city. It is 
in connection with this advance that the story of the keeping 
of the bridge by Horatius is told. Very likely the Etruscans 
did advance on Rome, and it is even probable that the Romans 
were seriously defeated ; but it is more doubtful whether 
the advance was on Tarquin's behalf, else Lars Porsena 
would have carried out his object and restored him. Tarquin's 
final effort was made in alliance with his son-in-law Mamilius, 
prince of Tusculum ; but in the battle of Lake Regillus the 
Romans were victorious, and Tarquin finally withdrew from 
the contest. 

This is something like the history of the early period, so 
far as we can judge, but we are not very certain about it. 
What we do know is that a city arose in Latium, on the banks 
of the Tiber ; that it grew in importance until it became the 
chief city in Latium ; that it was first ruled by its own elected 
kings, and then fell under the power of Etruscan princes, who 
ruled despotically, but extended the influence of the city 
abroad, and carried out reforms at home ; and that the tyranny 
of these alien monarchs and perhaps, most of all, the fact that 
they were aliens, brought about a revolution, which ended in 
the emancipation of Rome from their rule, and the downfall 
of the monarchy. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STEUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS. 

The discontent which had led to the abolition of the monarchy 509. 
was shared both by patricians and plebeians ; but the patri- 
cians gained most by the revolution in the first instance. It 
had been of a conservative character ; the Romans did not 
object to strict government, but a life tenure of kingship had 
not been successful, and the people thought that if the man at 
the head of the state were elected for a term only, he would 
fear to be tyrannical. Perhaps they were right in principle ; 
and had they been at liberty to choose the best man amongst 
the citizens for the post, whether rich or poor, gentle or simple, 
all would have been well. Unfortunately, they could not do 
this ; because, although the plebeians had the right of meeting 
in the Comitia and of passing resolutions, the patricians kept 
all offices of state firmly gripped in their own hands. The 
effect of the revolution was, therefore, not to establish a re- 
public of the modern type, but an aristocratic government or 
oligarchy. So far as the aristocracy were concerned, therefore, 
the revolution was a boon, but the people had gained little. 
Nevertheless, a beginning had been made, the change had in it 
the germs of liberty, and the history of the next two centuries 
shows how these germs were watered and made to grow. 

The place of the king was filled by two officers called con- 
suls, who were elected annually, and exercised their power, 
not conjointly as one would have expected, but severally — 
each to the full extent of the prerogative. If this led to 
confusion, and matters came to a crisis, the consuls might 

choose a dictator, to exercise absolute power for six months. 

(533) 



534 ROME 

Now, had these consuls been chosen indiscriminately from the 
whole body of the people, they would have been inclined to 
rule all with impartiality ; but, though the plebeians had a 
voice in the election, they could only choose members of the 
patrician families. Whilst, then, the consuls had to be 
careful not to offend one of their own order, knowing that 
after their time of office had expired, and they were simple 
citizens again, their enemy could have his revenge, they 
cared less what happened to plebeians who could never be 
in a position to do them harm. The consuls, therefore, 
became little more than machines for carrying out the wishes 
of the patricians, and the real power lay in the Senate, which 
retained its patrician character. The same truth applied in 
its degree to the other offices of state ; the patricians mono- 
polised all the magistracies, and everything was done for their 
benefit. 

It will be seen from this that the political struggle in 
Rome was not quite on the usual modern lines. Generally 
the extension of the franchise has been the chief demand 
of the people, but in Eome this was not the great need. Patri- 
cians and plebeians were alike citizens, and could vote in the 
assemblies of the people, but the votes of the plebeians availed 
little, seeing that they could only vote for patricians, who held 
all official positions, and all the seats in the Senate, and could 
veto their efforts after legislation at will. To make matters 
worse the Roman patricians were a close corporation. In the 
best modern states the aristocracy is continually replenished 
from the plebeians, but in Rome the ranks of the patricians 
were closed, intermarriage with plebeians was illegal, and 
no one could be promoted into the patrician order. This 
grew unbearable, but it lasted long, and concessions were only 
wrung by the plebeians from the patricians by slow degrees. 
Occasionally a patrician, wiser than the rest, would endeavour 
to bring about reform ; but the selfishness of his class generally 
proved too strong for him, and if he persisted he often paid 
for his zeal with his life. 



THE STEUGGLE BETWEEN THE OEDEES 535 

While a country is prospering and comfort is widely dif- 
fused amongst all classes, the people are content to leave 
well alone and do not trouble themselves much about political 
anomalies ; but when there is widespread poverty and misery 
the case is otherwise. Now it happened that at this time there 
was much trouble in Rome. There were political troubles, for 
the state took some time to settle down after the revolution, 
and was by no means so powerful as it had been under the 
Etruscan kings. There were wars with the Etruscans, who 
were now at the height of their power, and who defeated the 
Romans, and seem even to have captured Rome. Wars were 
waged with the surrounding Latin tribes, who tried to regain 
their independence when they saw Rome subdued by the 
Etruscans. In these wars patricians and plebeians fought 
side by side, but the plebeians were more injured by the wars 
than the patricians. Most of them were farmers. They had to 
serve without wages, pay heavy taxes, neglect their farms 
whilst the war lasted, and often endure the misery of seeing 
their property destroyed by the contending armies. It was 
little wonder if the small farmers lost their capital, ran 
into debt, and failed to meet their obligations. The creditors 
were generally patricians, and as the Roman law of debt was 
extremely severe, some patricians had actually private prisons 
in which they incarcerated their plebeian debtors, whom they 
might, after a certain period, sell into slavery. It was heart- 
rending to think that a man might fight like a hero in battle, 
and by his courage do the state infinite service, and on his 
return home find himself ruined, loaded with chains, exhibited 
in the market-place as a defaulter, and made a bondsman for 
life. Moreover, whilst the losses of war fell on the plebeians, 
the gains were seized by the patricians. This was especially 
the case with regard to the lands which were won in war and 
became state property, for the patricians claimed that they 
were the state, and the lands were divided amongst them, 
the plebeians receiving no consideration. So selfish were the 
patricians that they ceased even to pay the small government 



536 ROME 

tax upon the lands which they niched from the state, and 
thus the plebeians were plundered in every conceivable way ; 
their property, freedom and lives, being at the mercy of their 
oppressors. 
494. Sixteen years after the revolution, a protest, known as 

the First Secession of the Plebs, was made against this des- 
potism. The legions, largely composed of plebeians, had re- 
turned from a victorious campaign and were ordered off to 
another. They demanded that certain reforms, which had been 
long promised, should be carried out, and when this was re- 
fused they seceded, marching to a hill three miles from Rome, 
afterwards called Mons Sacer. The patricians asked for terms, 
and, as the first need of the plebeians was security for liberty 
and life, plebeian officers, called tribunes, were appointed to 
protect their own class. That this safeguard might be 
effectual, the tribunes were not to leave the city during their 
year of office, their doors were to stand open night and day 
and their persons were to be sacred, curses being invoked on 
the head of any who interfered with them. At first there 
were two tribunes, later there were five, and at last ten. 

The position of the tribunes was peculiar. They consti- 
tuted a state within a state, but the protection they gave was 
real, and they became the natural leaders of the people, guid- 
ing them in their further struggles after liberty. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE VICTORY OF THE PLEBEIANS. 

The 200 years which followed the appointment of Tribunes 
were years of agitation in Rome — the plebeians struggling 
after political equality and agrarian reform, strenuously 
opposed by the patricians and not very loyally supported by 
the richer men in their own class, who too often sided with 
the patricians and got a share of the spoil. We have said that 
from time to time patricians arose, more noble than their fellows, 
who espoused the cause of the plebeians and tried to do them 
justice. One of these was Spurius Cassius, who, during a 
second consulate, proposed some agrarian legislation. Hither- 486. 
to, the patricians had divided most of the public land amongst 
themselves, and used the rest as pasture for their cattle. 
Spurius Cassius proposed that a certain amount of the land 
should be divided amongst the plebeians, and that the patricians 
who used public land for pasture should pay rent to the state. 
The law was fair, and would have given satisfaction, but the 
patricians would have none of it ; and as soon as Cassius 
ceased to be consul he was tried on a trumped-up charge of 
aiming at royal power, was condemned, and executed. His 
efforts, however, were not altogether in vain — he had shown 
the line which agrarian reform might take, and this was not 
forgotten. 

Some years after the judicial murder of Cassius, Gnseus 473. 
Genucius, a tribune who dared to impeach the patrician 
consuls, was found, on the morning of the day fixed for 
their trial, dead in his bed. But reforms are rarely ob- 
structed by the killing of the reformers, and just after the 

(537) 



538 EOME 

471. death of Genucius a law was passed which proved of high 
importance in the history of reform. In the earliest assembly, 
the Comitia Curiata, the people had voted on a caste basis ; 
in the Comitia Centuriata, they had voted on a property 
basis ; and in both of these the patricians had a preponderating 
influence. The lex Publilia fixed the tribe as the voting 
basis — not the three ancient tribes, nor the four tribes into 
which Servius Tullius had divided town and country for mili- 
tary purposes, but twenty-one tribes into which the city 
and rural territory were now divided. Thus for the first 
time voting took place upon fair terms — the rich man's vote 
counting for no more than that of the poor man. True, only 
landholders voted, but these were at this time the most 
numerous section of the Roman people. So far as the franchise 
was concerned, therefore, matters were on a satisfactory foot- 
ing, but the patricians had still a monopoly in law, land and 
office. 

The next struggle was directed against legal monopoly. 
The patricians kept legal affairs altogether in their own hands, 
there was neither any written code to which the plebeians 
could refer, nor any appeal from the decision of a patrician 
magistrate unless a capital sentence had been given, in which 
case the condemned might appeal to the assembly of the people. 

462. Terentilius, a tribune, proposed the appointment of a commis- 
sion with power to prepare a code of the laws, but through the 
obstinacy of the Senate ten years elapsed before this was done. 
So opposed were the patricians to the codification that they 
increased the number of tribunes, and distributed building 
lots to the poor citizens in the hope of persuading them to 
abandon the idea. But the plebeians refused to yield, and at 

451. last ten men, the decemviri, were appointed to draw up a 
code. 

The code, or record of law as it then existed, was issued 
in ten tables, engraved in copper and fixed in front of the 
Senate-house. Two tables were added by a second body of 
commissioners so that it became known as the Twelve Tables. 



THE VICTOEY OF THE PLEBEIANS 539 

There was nothing original or specially wise in the code, but 
the record met the needs of the time, and laid a foundation 
for the future. 

Having obtained office, the decemviri, of whom five were 
plebeians, were in no hurry to abdicate, and it looked as if 
an attempt was being made to substitute a council of ten 
for the consuls and tribunes to whom the people had become 
accustomed. War was at this time in progress against the 
Volscians and Sabines, and the armies once more seceded, 449. 
marching to the Janiculum, and demanding the restoration 
of tribunes. It is in connection with this incident that the 
thrilling story of Virginia is narrated, based upon the tyranny 
of Appius Claudius the head of the decemviri. The story 
may or may not be true, but the cry : — 

" Tribunes, hurrah for tribunes, 
Down with the wicked ten," 

doubtless expressed the feeling of the people at the moment. 
The secession ended in the abdication of the decemviri, and 
the election of consuls and tribunes in the usual fashion. The 
same year the Valerio-Horatian laws were passed, which 
assured the inviolability of the officers of the plebeians, forbade 
the creation of a magistrate from whom there was no right of 
appeal, and ordained that under certain circumstances the 
plebiscita, the resolutions of the plebeians, which had heretofore 
been little more than moral obligations, should be legally bind- 
ing on the community. 

Slowly but surely the plebeians were winning their way, 
and a few years later another advance was made by the lex 445. 
Canuleia, which sanctioned marriage between patricians and 
plebeians, and thus broke down one of the barriers between 
the orders. The plebeians had been endeavouring for a long 
time to get the consulship thrown open to them, but when 
Canuleius, the tribune, urged that this should be done, the 
patricians opposed the suggestion so vehemently that a com- 
promise was arrived at by which, in place of consuls, military 
tribunes were elected with consular powers, the excuse for the 



540 EOME 

change of office being that the number of wars in which the 
Romans were engaged made it convenient that more than two 
generals should be available. The change was of importance, 
as it provided a battle ground on which the plebeians could 
annually show their growing strength. Between this year 
and 367, when the consulship was definitely thrown open to 
the plebeians, they succeeded in obtaining the appointment of 
military tribunes in place of consuls fifty times out of seven- 
eight. 

When the patricians saw that the consulship was escaping 
their grasp, they tried to make it of less importance by with- 

443. drawing from the consuls some of their functions. Censors were 
appointed to manage the burgess and taxation rolls, and the 
office of censor, which became of great importance, was confined 
to patricians. The patricians lost much of their power but 
struggled hard, and circumvented the plebeians whenever they 
could. Ancient electioneering was much like modern : the 
electors were canvassed, bribery and intimidation freely 
resorted to and efforts made to find flaws in the election. 
If all else failed, the Romans sometimes went a step farther 
and tried murder — legal or illegal. 

After this, for a time, the Romans were so busy with 
foreign wars that they had little leisure for home affairs. 

438. First came a long and tenacious struggle with the Etruscans 
of Veii. 

After the conquest of Veii came the invasion of Italy by 

390. the Gauls, the defeat of the Romans on the Allia, the capture 
and burning of the city, and finally a severe struggle with the 
Volscians. These wars pressed heavily upon the Romans and 
above all upon the farmers, who were hopelessly in debt to the 
patrician money-lenders. The wealthy plebeians also had their 
grievance in that they were excluded from office by the patri- 
cians, so a coalition of rich plebeians and poor farmers was 
formed for the purpose of obtaining economic and political 

377. reform. The tribunes Licinius Stolo and Sextius Sextinus 
proposed a series of bills, or " rogationes " setting forth various 



THE VICTOKY OF THE PLEBEIANS 541 

reforms, and although these had to be fought for sturdily for 
ten years they at last became law. By these it was enacted 367. 
that Rome should be ruled by consuls, one of whom must be a 
plebeian ; that half the custodians of the oracles were to be 
plebeians ; that no citizen was to occupy more than 500 acres 
of the domain land, or pasture more than 100 cattle and 500 
sheep on the common land ; that landowners should employ a 
certain proportion of free labour, and that interest paid on 
debts should be deducted from the capital, and time be given 
for payment of the balance. Licinius and Sextius fought 
splendidly for their rogations, and were re-elected as tribunes 
year after year, until the patricians yielded and Sextius Sex- 366. 
tinus became the first plebeian consul. 

Even after these laws had been passed the more obstinate 
amongst the patricians kept up the struggle, and tried still 
to carry their own nominees. But when the people for- 343. 
mally enacted that both consuls might be plebeians, the 
patricians took the hint. When they found that they could 
not regain the consulship, they transferred some of its more 
important duties to other officers, such as the "praetor 
urbanus " and the " sediles curules ". But these proved useful 
officers in themselves, and now that the plebeians had a 
consul of their own to see that elections were fairly con- 
ducted, they could elect their Own candidates, and the 
multiplication of offices was of less consequence. Moreover, 
after a time all magistracies were thrown open to plebeians 
and patricians on equal terms. 

The Senate also lost its exclusiveness, and for a time much 339. 
of its power. By a lex Publilia the " patrum auctoritas," the 
sanction of the measures of the Comitia Centuriata by the 
Senate, was ordered to be given beforehand; so that the 
control of the Comitia by the Senate became a mere form ; and 287. 
by the lex Hortensia, plebiscita, the acts of the plebs in their 
own special assembly, received the force of law. After the 
passing of this law there was no need for further conflict be- 
tween the orders. The patricians continued to receive that 



542 EOME 

respect which is rightly owing to ancient names, but the 
plebeians were now the strongest and even the most wealthy- 
part of the community. A foundation of republican equality 
had been laid in Rome, and it seemed as if popular govern- 
ment might develop in a satisfactory way. Unhappily other 
forces came into play, and the lust of gain and power, and 
the blight of slavery rendered vain the reforms for which 
generations of patriotic Romans had earnestly striven. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE CONQUEST OP ITALY. 

In the last two chapters we have seen how the Romans 
prospered at home after the monarchy, let us now look back 
and see how they prospered abroad. 

The Etruscan kings, whose expulsion from Rome brought 
the monarchy to an end, were warriors ; and under their sway 509. 
Roman power, spreading over Latium, was felt by the border- 
ing Volscian and Sabine tribes. But the fall of the monarchy 
was succeeded by a time of weakness, during which the city 
was only barely able to hold her own. Her first serious trouble 
was with the Etruscans, who were now at the height of their 
power, ruling over territories both north and south of Rome, 
and sharing, in alliance with Carthage, supremacy over the 
Western Mediterranean. One Etruscan prince, Lars Porsena, 
attacked Rome so vigorously that the Romans had to 
make a humiliating peace, and surrender all territory north 
of the Tiber. Fortunately the army which had conquered 
Rome met with disaster on proceeding farther south with a 
view to fresh conquest, and the Etruscans were probably 
unable to compel the performance of the treaty into which 
Rome had entered. 

Other important events happened at this time, tending to 
depress the Etruscans and relieve the situation. The Persians 
were just now attempting the conquest of Greece, and whilst 
Xerxes crossed the Hellespont with his mighty army, the Car- 
thaginians, who were in alliance with the Etruscans, invaded 480. 
Sicily, with the object of preventing the Greek colonists there 

from sending help to the mother country. The Greeks were, 

(543) 



544 EOME 

however, completely victorious both in Sicily and in Greece, 
crushing at Himera and Salamis all their foes ; and the victory 
of Himera so encouraged the Syracusans, to whom it was 
mainly attributable, that they boldly contested the lordship 
of the seas both with Carthage and her Etruscan ally. The 
Sicilian straits were closed against the Etruscans, a battle 

474. was fought at Cumae in which Hiero of Syracuse won a 
decisive victory over them, and from this time their power 

424. declined. Half a century after, they were driven out of 
Campania by the Samnites ; and when, somewhat later, the 

405. Romans attacked Veii, an Etruscan city, and besieged it for 
nearly ten years, the Etruscans were unable to render it any 
assistance. 

During this period Rome had been successfully contending 
against her warlike neighbours, the Sabines, iEquians and 
Volscians, who often raided her territory, approaching at times 
almost to the gates of the city. Fortunately, the Latin tribes 
who surrounded Rome recognised that in this matter all had 

493. a common interest, and made alliance with her, so that she 
had buffer states between herself and her enemies. Yet the 
struggle was severe, and had the Etruscans been able to unite 
forces with the Volscians and the Sabines, it might have gone 
hard with the republic. But Etruria had enough to do with 
her own affairs. Campania had been wrested from her by the 
Samnites, the Sicilians had diminished her maritime import- 
ance, and a more terrible enemy than either was pressing 
from the north. Beyond Etruria, between the Apennines and 
the Alps, lay the fertile lands of Gallia Cisalpina, inhabited 
by Celtic tribes whose numbers were reinforced from time to 
time by their northern kinsmen. About this period there 
had been important tribal movements. The Celts, who 
in their westward migration had passed Italy by, were 
now retracing their steps, and masses of them had crossed the 
Alps and descended into the rich plains of Lombardy. This 
district had been under Etruscan control, but the Celts drove 

391. the Etruscans out of their possessions ; and crossing the Apen- 



THE CONQUEST OF ITALY 545 

nines, followed them into Etruria. Clusium was besieged, and 

the very existence of Etruria threatened, and the Etruscans, 

though their city of Veii had just fallen into the hands of the 

Romans, besought their help against this yet more dreaded foe. 

The Romans did not send troops to help the Etruscans, whose 

troubles they perhaps viewed with equanimity, but they sent 

envoys to request the Celts to desist. To this request the 

Celts paid no attention, and when the envoys found that they 

could not prevail by haughty speech they so far forgot their 

position as to take part in an Etruscan sally in which one of 

the Celtic chiefs was killed. The Celts acted with great 

dignity, sending messengers to Rome to demand the surrender 

of the men who had thus abused their position as envoys ; but 

the Romans, despising their barbarous correspondents, added 

insult to injury by nominating these very envoys for election 

to important office in the state. On learning this, Brennus, 

who led the Celts, at once broke up the siege of Clusium, and 390. 

marched on Rome with such rapidity that he was at the Allia, 

twelve miles from the city, before the Roman army encountered 

him. The Romans advanced full of confidence and with little 

precaution, but were attacked by the Celts so furiously 

that they were routed at the first onset. Such of them 

as escaped made for Veii, leaving the capital undefended. 

Had the Celts marched upon Rome instantly, they might have 

utterly destroyed it, but they waited for three days, so that 

the women and children had time to fly from the city and 

take refuge among the friendly Latins, whilst the men, 

abandoning the outer city, assembled in the Capitol. When 

the Celts arrived, they sacked and burnt the city, but 

the Capitol proved impregnable. The siege lasted for seven 

months, and then the Celts, hearing that their own territories 

were being invaded, accepted a heavy ransom and retired as 

rapidly as they came. 

The crisis through which Rome had passed had been acute, 

and it seemed as if the reverse must be permanently disastrous. 

When the Romans returned and found their city in ruins, 

35 



546 EOME 

some proposed that it should be abandoned, and that they 
should migrate to Veii, but this idea not finding favour, 
Rome was rebuilt, and recovered its old prosperity with 
great rapidity. 

The Etruscans, taking advantage of the circumstances of 
the time, endeavoured to regain Veii, but they were defeated, 
and Southern Etruria was incorporated with the Roman 

389. state. So also when the Volscians attacked Latium, the very 
year after Rome had been burned, they were defeated and 
colonies planted in their territory to ensure its permanent 
subjugation. 

Thus, in spite of all disasters, Rome was still the strongest 
power in Italy, and her dominions were wider than ever. 
Her next contests were unfortunately with- her Latin and 
Hernican allies. These had borne the brunt of the Volscian 
attacks, and had suffered severely at times ; but, seeing how 
Rome was advancing and fearing the loss of independence, 
they rebelled and fought stuBbornly for several years. At 

358. length they had to submit to a treaty by which they accepted 
the position of subjects rather than allies of Rome. 

The supremacy of Rome was confirmed by successive 
victories over the Celts, whose further progress southward 
she effectually barred. This was a benefit to the whole 
of Italy, so that Rome earned her right to suzerainty, not 
only by defeating the tribes of the peninsula themselves, 
but by defending them from the barbarians of the north. 
The service which she thus rendered to civilisation was 
recognised beyond the limits of Italy. Athens heard of her 

348. fame, and Carthage made a treaty with the rising state. 

Whilst Rome was engaged subduing the Volsci and ^qui, 
the Samnite tribes of the Apennines had been spreading 
southward, and some of them had taken possession of Cam- 
pania. But residence in the cities of the plain speedily 

343. caused them to degenerate, and when they in their turn 
were attacked by other and hardier Samnites, they were 
fain to appeal to Rome, and offered to place themselves under 



THE CONQUEST OF ITALY 547 

her suzerainty. The Romans accordingly declared war 
against the hill tribes, thus beginning a contest which was 
destined to give the city some trouble. In the two first 
campaigns, however, Rome was successful, and the Samnites 
entered into a treaty by which they promised to desist from 341. 
troubling the Campanian cities. 

Hardly was peace concluded with the Samnites when 
Rome found herself at war with the Latins who bore their 
subjection ill. They were willing to accept the headship of 
Rome, from which indeed there was evidently no escape, 
but they demanded that one consul should be Latin, so that 
more attention might be paid to their interests. To this 
demand the Romans refused to accede, and after two fiercely- 
contested battles at Mount Vesuvius and Trifanum the 
insurrection came to an end. Rome now adopted a new 
policy with regard to her Latin subjects. The Latin federa- 
tion, of which she had been the head, was dissolved, and a 
policy of isolation adopted, by which separate treaties were 
made between Rome and the several cities, the inhabitants of 
which were permitted free intercourse with Rome, but neither 
to trade nor intermarry amongst themselves. There was 
variety of treatment as regards individual cities : some lost 
their independence, some retained it, some received full rights 
of citizenship, and some limited rights — everything was done 
to weaken the bonds of union between the cities, and to 
increase their dependence upon Rome. Rome adopted the 
same policy in her subsequent dealings with conquered cities ; 
and although it seems a poor plan, according to modern ideas, 
it answered her purpose at the time — welding the communities 
together so that even the undaunted Hannibal, with all his 
perseverance and brilliant success in the field, could not 
break the ties uniting them to Rome. 

Scarcely had Rome thus set her house in order when once 
more the Samnites decided to try her strength. The 
dispute arose about the Greek city of Paheopolis, which 327. 
Rome determined to subjugate and the Samnites to defend. 



548 EOME 

After it had fallen, the war was carried into the Samnite 
country. The Samnites lost heart and asked for peace, but 

321. the Romans refused to grant it; and the Samnites, driven to 
desperation, made a supreme effort, and came near to destroying 
the whole Roman army, which was led by a stratagem into 
a valley known as the Caudine Forks, and had to surrender 
at discretion. But Pontius, the Samnite general, played his 
cards badly, for though he compelled the consuls to make a 
favourable peace, he did not free them until he had forced 
the army to pass under the yoke. The Romans, stung by this 
degradation, refused to ratify the peace ; and, greatly to the 
sorrow of the Samnites, war was continued. Had the Sam- 
nites been more united they might have given the Romans 
plenty of trouble, for they were exceedingly hardy and brave, 
but many of their tribes were lukewarm and either remained 
neutral or allied themselves with Rome, so that those who 
fought had little chance of success. As the war proceeded, 
the Romans made their conquests sure by building fortresses, 

304. planting colonies, and making roads, so that when peace was 
at last granted to the Samnites, Rome had obtained a hold 
upon the country not easily to be shaken off. 

298. Some years later the war was renewed by the Samnites^ 

who, finding their position hopeless, tried to unite the 
subject peoples of Italy in one determined effort to break 
the Roman bonds asunder. The Etruscans, Umbrians and 
Celts joined them ; and the Romans, greatly alarmed, strained 
every nerve, and put 60,000 men into the field. After a 
defeat at Clusium, the Romans at last managed to divide the 

295. forces of the enemy, and at Sentinum utterly routed the 
Celts and Samnites and broke up the coalition. The Celts 
were annihilated, and the Etruscans sued for peace, but the 
Samnites fought on with the courage of despair. At last 

290. they could do no more, and the Romans, who respected their 
courage, granted them peace on honourable terms. 



CHAPTER VII. 

PYRRHUS. 

In the wars which Rome had fought with the Samnites the 
Lucanians, who occupied the southern corner of the Italian 
peninsula, had been faithful allies, and their alliance had been 
of the utmost service to the city. At the conclusion of the 290. 
last Samnite war, therefore, the Romans, in consideration of 
their services, left them free to deal as they liked with the 
Greek cities situate in their territory. In conformity with 
this understanding the Lucanians attacked Thurii, upon which 
the Thurines appealed to Rome, and placed themselves under 
her suzerainty. It was a breach of faith for Rome to inter- 
fere in the matter, but the Romans were beginning to 
be spoiled by success, and as they did not now require the 
aid of the Lucanians, they accepted the submission of the 
Thurines, and warned their old allies to let the city alone. 
The Lucanians, indignant at this treatment, declared war 
and invited the other Italian peoples to join them. The 
Etruscans were amongst the first to join the confederacy ; and 
helped by the Senones, a Celtic tribe living on the Adriatic 
coast, they annihilated a Roman army which had been sent to 284. 
defend Arretium. 

The Romans, now thoroughly aroused, marched in force 
against the Senones, and having slain many, drove the rest 
out of the peninsula. This treatment of the Senones exasper- 
ated their Celtic neighbours, and the Boii and others, uniting 
with the Etruscans, marched upon Rome. The united army 
was, however, completely defeated at Lake Vadimo, and the 283. 

Celts were so discouraged that they made peace, and with- 

(549) 



550 EOME 

drew from the confederacy. Rome was now able to give 
undivided attention to Southern Italy, the Lucanians were 
easily defeated, and many of the Greek towns became Roman 
possessions. 

With Tarentum, the principal Greek city in the south 
of Italy, Rome was at peace, but the Tarentines watched 
her rapid growth with alarm, perceiving that the time was 
approaching when they would have to choose between a 
Roman protectorate and war. There were two parties in 
Tarentum — the aristocracy, who advocated submission to the 
Romans ; and the people, who desired independence. Now it 
happened that the extirpation of the Senonian Gauls had given 
the Romans possession of a tract of country on the Adriatic ; 
and, in order to protect their conquests, they had established a 
Colony at Sena, the former capital of the Senones, a city on 
the sea-coast. Ostensibly in connection with the establish- 
ment of this colony a fleet was sent round, which anchored in 
the harbour of Tarentum. Perhaps the Romans had arranged 
with their partisans and hoped to obtain quiet possession of 
the city. At any rate the Tarentines, suspected treachery, and 
rushed to the harbour, destroying five ships out of ten, and 
killing many sailors, amongst whom was the admiral himself. 
The Tarentines claimed this justification, that an ancient treaty 
with Rome forbade the Romans to sail into their seas, but 

282. there was no excuse for such high-handed conduct. 

The Romans might at once have declared war against the 
Tarentines, but they tried peaceful negotiations in the first 
place, and an embassy was sent to demand apology and 
restitution. When this was refused and when the Tarentines 
attacked Thurii and drove out the Roman garrison, the 
Romans no longer hesitated, but sent an army southward and 
laid waste the surrounding country. The Tarentines were 
now committed to war, and began to look round for allies. 

281. At this time there was in Epirus a king named Pyrrhus, who 
had a high reputation as a general, and was extremely am- 
bitious. He claimed kinship with Alexander, and thought he 



PYEEHUS 551 

might conquer the western world, as Alexander had conquered 
the eastern half a century before — his idea being to unite 
Southern Italy, Sicily and Carthage under his rule. Pyrrhus 
seems to have been an estimable man : honourable and brave, 
but he set himself an impossible task, for he had neither 
Alexander's ability nor resources ; and, moreover, his enemies 
were not Asiatics but hardy Europeans. The ambitious 
designs of Pyrrhus were no secret, and an embassy was sent 
from Tarentum to endeavour to obtain his help against Rome. 
The envoys deceived Pyrrhus, leading him to believe that 
if he landed in Italy with an army of moderate size great 
numbers would flock to his banner ; whereupon he, thinking 
the time suitable for carrying out his projects, sent his 
general Milo to occupy Tarentum with a small force and 280. 
followed shortly after with 25,000 men. No sooner had 
he landed than he saw that he had been duped as to the 
resources of the Tarentines, who had neither an army to 
give him, nor any inclination themselves to fight. Pyrrhus 
accordingly at once put the city under martial law, and gave 
the citizens their choice between military service and military 
execution. 

The Romans had meanwhile been making their prepara- 
tions, and three armies were put into the field, to guard Rome, 
check revolt in Etruria, and advance into Lower Italy. 
At this time an untoward event happened at Rhegium. A 
legion of Campanian allies had been sent by the Senate to 
garrison that city and guard the straits, but having no special 
affection for Rome, they took the opportunity of revolting, 
seized the town, slew the inhabitants, and established them- 
selves as freebooters, following the example of another band 
of Campanians who, after the death of Agathocles of Syra- 
cuse, their employer, had done the same in Messina, the town 
on the other side of the straits. 

Meanwhile Pyrrhus encountered the Romans at Heraclea, 
and a fierce battle was fought, in which they were defeated 
with great loss. Pyrrhus also suffered heavily, and could 



552 EOME 

less easily afford it. The effect of the first battle was satis- 
factory in one way, for many flocked to his standard — the 
Lucanians, Bruttians and Samnites joining him, whilst the 
Greek cities expelled their Roman garrisons and joined him 
also. The key of the situation was not however held by 
these, but by the Latins, who showed no desire to rise, for 
though they might not love Rome much they loved Pyrrhus 
and the Greeks less. 

Pyrrhus seems to have been ill-informed about the 
strength of Rome, and to have imagined that he could carry 
out his plans without taking her much into consideration. 
Accordingly after Heraclea he sent Cineas his minister to 
Rome to propose peace, demanding the freedom of the Greek 
towns, and the relinquishment of such territories as had been 
taken from his allies. The Senate seemed inclined to listen to 
Cineas, but were persuaded by Appius Claudius Ceecus to reply 
that Romans could not treat with any foreign enemy so long 
as he remained on Italian soil. When Pyrrhus heard that the 
negotiations had failed, he marched towards the city, but 
though the Romans avoided battle, three armies watched his 
movements, and finding that he could do nothing, he retired 
to Campania and went into winter quarters. 

279. Next year Pyrrhus assumed the offensive in Apulia, and 

defeated the Romans at Asculum ; but, being wounded, had to 
retire to Tarentum for a time. He had now beaten the 
Romans twice, but he was no nearer his object than before, 
and it was becoming clear to him that he could not conquer 
Italy with his resources. 

At this time Sicily was falling rapidly into the hands of 
the Carthaginians, who, not content with the western end of 
the island, which had been for a long time under their autho- 
rity, were pressing eastward and seemed likely to conquer the 
whole island. Syracuse was now in danger, and as Pyrrhus 
was son-in-law of Agathocles, the late king of that city, the 
Syracusans invited him to accept the sovereignty and deliver 

278. them from Carthage ; whereupon Pyrrhus, not sorry to leave 



PYEEHUS 553 

Italy, crossed to Sicily, whilst the Carthaginians, alarmed at a 
development which threatened their power, entered into an 
alliance with Rome against him. 

Pyrrhus was for a time most successful in Sicily, freeing 
city after city, until the Carthaginians had only Lilybseum 
left. Finding that he could not drive them from this last 
stronghold without a fleet, he proceeded to build one, and 
soon had it floating in the harbour of Syracuse. Meanwhile 
he had been governing the island so badly that his subjects 
had tired of him. The Greeks were passionately fond of 
autonomy, and the despotic methods which Pyrrhus introduced 
did not please them. Two years therefore sufficed to exhaust 
their goodwill ; and, influenced partly by this and partly by 
complaints from his Italian allies, he used his fleet when it 
was ready, not against Lilybseum, but to carry him back 
to Tarentum. On the voyage he was attacked by the Cartha- 
ginian fleet, and lost many vessels, and his Sicilian empire 
collapsed as soon as he left the island. When he arrived in 
Italy he found that the Roman legions were concentrating at 
Beneventum, and there he made a further effort, but was 
beaten ; whereupon, despairing of success, he left a garrison in 275. 
Tarentum under Milo, and returned to his native land. It 
says something for his popularity, that in spite of his long 
absence and failure abroad, he regained his kingdom, but a 
year or two afterwards he was killed ingloriously at Argos. 

When Milo heard that his master was dead, he handed 272. 
Tarentum over to the Romans, who destroyed its fortifications 
and confiscated its fleet. Shortly afterwards Rhegium was 270. 
captured, and then, some further risings amongst the Samnites 
having been quelled, there was peace. Rome had completed 
the conquest of Italy south of the Apennines, and new colonies, 
fortresses and roads made all secure. 

The city on the banks of the Tiber was now mistress of 
Italy, and worthy to be called great. Her methods had some- 
times been selfish, and sometimes not very honourable, yet 
there had not been much to complain of. So far Rome had 



554 EOME 

kept within her own borders, and her wars had been in the 
main justifiable on defensive principles. She had succeeded 
because her citizens were united and patriotic. They did not 
hire mercenaries to fight their battles, they risked their own 
lives, and this of itself was a guarantee that they were not 
fighting without reason. A time was soon to come when 
Roman generals would make war for the sake of gain, and 
her citizens would not scruple in their own selfish interest 
to trample upon the rights of humanity, but thus far their 
behaviour had not been ignoble. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A NEW DEPARTURE. 

The failure of Pyrrhus in Italy was creditable to Rome, not 
only from a military, but also from an administrative point of 
view. Every one knew that Romans could fight, but Rome 
had now shown that she could hold fast by prudent policy 
what she had conquered by the sword. Here was a new 
lesson to the world, which had seen many warriors but few 
good rulers, and the nations perceived that a great power 
had arisen in Europe. Hitherto Rome had not been enticed 
by lust of territory. She had simply gone on subduing the 
tribes on her frontiers, until at length she saw that there could 
be no rest for her short of the bounds fixed by the seas 
on three sides of the peninsula. She had never dreamed 
of conquest across the sea. Her fleet was of the poorest, and 
only suitable for protective purposes, and she had apparently 
no desire to add to it. But circumstances arose which led to 
a new and fateful departure in her policy. 

Due south of Italy, on the Bay of Tunis, stood the large 
and prosperous African city of Carthage. This city had been 
built by Phoenicians, colonists from that little country on the 
coast of Canaan, which by its resistless energy and enter- 
prise had made itself a mart for the trade of the world. 
The Phoenicians were a peacefully-disposed people, avoiding 
aggressive war, willing to make almost any compromise for the 
sake of commerce, and not hesitating even to pay tribute in 
exchange for trading facilities. Not that there was anything 
cowardly about the Phoenician character. They must have 

had plenty of courage before they could have adventured as 

(555) 



556 EOME 

they did, sailing boldly over the seas of the known world 
centuries before any other race, exploring the Mediterranean, 
the Atlantic, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and even 
circumnavigating Africa. They had done the world great 
service, for from Phoenicia " commerce first dawned in all its 
greatness upon man". 

In the Mediterranean the Phoenicians had established many 
stations, of which Carthage, though by no means the oldest, 
soon became the greatest. At first the Carthaginians were of 
the same pacific spirit as their kinsmen, paying, for instance, 
ground rent to the Berber native tribes of the vicinity for 
leave to dwell amongst them, many years after they had 
become powerful enough to throw over the obligation. 
They were at last driven from their pacific attitude by the 
Greeks, who, having learned navigation from the Phoenicians, 
soon became their most formidable rivals, planting colonies 
like them and trading with equal vigour. The Greeks 
were settled in Sicily, South Italy and France ; and Car- 
thage had to join the Etruscans in the endeavour to prevent 
the Mediterranean from being turned into a Grecian lake. 

During the critical period when Xerxes hurled the power 
of Asia against Greece, Carthage, influenced partly by Phoe- 
nicia and partly by a desire to see her commercial rivals 
humbled, attacked the Sicilian Greeks, but was completely 
discomfited on the Himera by Gelo of Syracuse. From this 
time forward there was much warfare between Carthage and 
Syracuse ; and as Etruria succumbed to Rome, and Rome had 
not yet come forward as a maritime power, Syracuse was 
the chief competitor that Carthage had to contend with in 
the Western Mediterranean. The resources of Syracuse were, 
however, comparatively small, and a working arrangement 
was come to by which Carthage contented herself with the 
possession of Western Sicily, whilst Syracuse held the east. 

The importance of the Carthaginian navy at this time is 

proved by treaties made between Carthage and Rome. In the 

348. first of these the Romans agreed that they would not navigate 



A NEW DEPAETUEE 557 

the coast of Africa west of the Fair Cape, but they obtained 
the privilege of free trade in Carthaginian Sicily, Africa and 
Sardinia, whilst the Carthaginians were allowed to trade with 
Rome. In the second, forty years later, Rome was put in a 306. 
worse position, being forbidden to trade with Sardinia and 
Africa, and excluded from the eastern seas. 

At the time when Pyrrhus was driven from Italy, Carthage 275. 
was at the summit of her power, and her empire seemed not 
less promising than the Roman, though it proved to be much 
less firmly founded. In those early days Rome governed 
well enough. She did not interfere unduly with her subject 
communities, nor load them with tribute, and such of them as 
were akin to her in race became satisfied with her rule or at 
any rate preferred it to the rule of an outsider. This had been 
shown during the war with Pyrrhus, and would soon be 
yet more clearly proved during the war with Hannibal. 
Far otherwise was it with those under the sway of Carthage, 
whose methods were oriental. She governed selfishly, depriving 
her subjects of free trade, loading some with tribute, treating 
others as slaves, so that they had everything to gain by the 
downfall of their oppressor. There was another reason why 
the Carthaginian empire was likely to prove less substantial 
than the Roman. The traders of Carthage trusted, in their 
wars, too much to mercenary troops, who often betrayed 
them, whereas the Roman soldier was also a Roman citizen, 
fighting for the greatness of Rome. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. 

In a former chapter it was related how certain freebooters, 
Campanians by origin, had obtained possession of Rhegium, 
following the example of others who called themselves Mamer- 
tines or sons of Mars, and had gained Messina in Sicily in 
the same high-handed fashion. The Romans besieged Rhegium 
which was on their side of the strait, and when they had 

271. captured it with the aid of Hiero, king of Syracuse, the 
mutineers were severely dealt with. Messina did not interest 
the Romans as it was in Sicily ; but since the Mamertines there 
were obnoxious to Hiero, he drove them into their city and 
closely besieged it. Perceiving that the capture of the city was 

264. imminent, the Mamertines appealed to Rome, offering to place 

themselves under her suzerainty. There were various reasons 

why the Romans should have refused this request. It was 

not very honourable for them to protect the Mamertines against 

Hiero, seeing that he had helped them to break up a precisely 

similar gang in Rhegium. It was also a departure from the 

policy hitherto pursued, by which Rome had refrained from 

intermeddling outside her own peninsula ; and it would almost 

certainly lead to war with Carthage. The question was thus 

of immense importance, and was long debated in the Senate, 

but at last they decided to help the Mamertines, who were 

received into the Italian confederacy — Rome thus taking her 

first great step towards universal empire. 

There were in Messina Carthaginian partisans who sent 

word of the appeal which had been made to Rome, and 

the Carthaginians, determined not to let the Romans obtain a 

(558) 



THE FIEST PUNIC WAE 559 

footing in the island, seized the city and informed the Roman 
general when he reached Rhegium that his services were not 
required. He crossed to Messina, however, and by a stratagem 
obtained possession of the person of the Carthaginian com- 
mander and then of the city itself. The Carthaginians deeply 
chagrined, declared war against Rome, and in alliance with 
Hiero of Syracuse besieged Messina, but the Romans defeated 263. 
both armies, and when Hiero perceived how things were 
shaping he made peace with Rome. 

The Romans having now only the Carthaginians to contend 
with made great progress, and soon gained the whole island 
excepting the maritime fortresses. Perceiving that they could 
not gain these so long as the Carthaginians were supreme 
on the sea, the Romans decided to build a fleet, and soon 
launched 120 vessels. Being uninstructed in the naval tactics 
of the time, which required careful manoeuvring and ramming, 
they hit upon a plan to neutralise the effect of these by the use 
of boarding bridges, which could be dropped on an enemy's 
ship and clamped to it by hooks. Over these bridges 
soldiers could pour, and though inferior in seamanship, the 
Romans were greatly superior to the Africans in a hand-to- 
hand fight. 

The first naval battle was fought at Mylae, where the 260. 
Carthaginians, confounded by the new tactics, were beaten. 
Rome had now become a naval power, but her admirals did 
not learn seamanship in a day, and her fleets had many 
disasters. So the war lingered on until at length the 
Senate determined to carry it into Africa, and sent Regulus 
and Volso with four legions and a powerful fleet. The 
Carthaginian fleet having been beaten, the legions landed 
safely in Africa and carried all before them. So confident 
were the Romans of success that they ordered Volso to return 
with half the army whilst Regulus remained to finish the 
campaign with the rest. But these orders were premature. 
The Carthaginians sued for peace, but Regulus met their pro- 
posals with such harshness that they determined to fight on. 



560 EOME 

It happened that about this time mercenaries arrived at Car- 
thage from Greece amongst whom was Xanthippus a Spartan 
captain. He was entrusted with the chief command, and having 
carefully drilled the troops and inspired them with confidence 

255. in his ability, he led them against the Romans, who were com- 
pletely beaten — Regulus being taken prisoner and only 2,000 
men escaping to the entrenchments. The Romans at once sent 
a fleet to rescue the miserable remnant, and, after a naval 
victory over the now exulting Carthaginians, embarked their 
men, but on its way back the fleet met with a violent storm and 
three-fourths of the vessels were destroyed. 

During this contest many African tribes had gone over to 
the side of Rome, and after her victory Carthage treated 
these with great severity, laying heavy fines upon them and 
crucifying their leaders. The cruelty of the revenge rankled 
in the minds of the people, and Carthage suffered for it when 
her own day of trouble came. 

254. Next year the Romans captured Panormus (Palermo) and 

gained the mastery in Northern Sicily, and the year after they 

253. sent a plundering expedition to Africa which succeeded well 
enough against the Carthaginians but was destroyed in a storm 
when homeward bound. These disasters on the sea discouraged 
the Romans who gave up for a time the idea of becoming a 
naval power and reduced their fleet to what was needed for 
the defence of their coasts. Two years later — their spirits 

250. being raised by another victory at Palermo — they tried again, 

249. but a fresh disaster dashed their hopes to the ground, and they 
once more abandoned the sea. 

This first Punic war had been in progress for fifteen years, 
and the Romans had made little headway, though they had lost 
four fleets, many citizens and much money. The Carthaginians 
also had lost much, but it was of less consequence to them, for 
they could hire new mercenaries, and regain their lost treasure 
by trading. During the next few years, the Romans were 
apathetic, continuing the siege of the Carthaginian strongholds 
in Sicily but not attempting anything further. Had the Cartha- 



THE FIEST PUNIC WAE 561 

ginians used the opportunity thus given them, and pressed the 
Romans, they might at least have wrung from them favour- 
able conditions of peace. One Carthaginian indeed did 
well, Hamilcar Barca or Barak, who commanded in Sicily, 
establishing himself on Mount Ercte, now Monte Pellegrino, 
and making his troops bring over their wives and children 
and settle there. From this centre he kept up a guerilla 
warfare with the Romans in Sicily, and even landed upon 
and ravaged the coasts of Italy. Had the Carthaginians 
properly supported him all would have been well, but they 
were lamentably supine, and even allowed the fleet to become 
decayed and useless. 

At last the Romans determined to end the business, and 242. 
since the treasury was empty and the Senate disinclined to 
move, the citizens took the matter into their own hands, and 
raising funds by private contribution actually built a fleet of 
200 vessels and manned it with 60,000 seamen. Carthage was 
taken by surprise ; she had made no preparation for such an 
emergency, and, before she could meet it, her fleet was sunk 
and the strongholds of Lilybseum and Drepanum captured. 
There was nothing for the Carthaginians now but peace, and 
Hamilcar received orders to stay his hand and get the best 
terms he could. The terms offered were quite as good as the 
Carthaginians could have expected under the circumstances. 
They undertook to abandon Sicily and the adjoining islands, 
and to pay an indemnity of about £800,000. It is satisfactory 
to know that Hamilcar, who had done so well though his 
labour proved in vain, was permitted to leave Sicily with the 
honours of war. 

Scarcely was this war concluded when a revolt broke out 241. 

among the subjects of Carthage herself. The immediate cause 

of the revolt was the refusal of Carthage to pay the mercenaries 

their proper wages, but bitter feelings had been left in the 

minds of many by the cruelty with which Carthage had 

revenged herself after the defeat of Regulus some years before. 

During the progress of the revolt, the garrison in Sardinia 

36 



562 EOME 

240. declared in favour of the insurgents, and offered to hand over 
the island to Rome. Their offer was accepted by the Romans, 
who took possession of the island, but when the Carthaginians 
had quelled the revolt they sent envoys to demand its restora- 
tion. The action of the Romans had been high-handed, and 
perhaps dishonest, but they refused to give up their booty and, 
pretending to have a grievance against Carthage, declared war. 
There was nothing left for the Carthaginians but submission, 
and thus the Romans gained Sardinia without a struggle. 
They acquired Corsica shortly after, so that they now possessed 
Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica — the three great islands of the 
Western Mediterranean. 



CHAPTER X. 

A BREATHING SPACE. 

Twenty-three years elapsed between the termination of the 
first and the beginning of the second Punic war — years not 
spent idly either by Rome or Carthage. Rome had now 
become a great power, and had to face corresponding 
responsibilities. This was soon illustrated by her action in the 
Adriatic. She ruled on both sides of the Italian peninsula, and 
being no longer restricted by treaties with either Carthage or 
Tarentum, it was of importance to her that the Adriatic should 
be rendered safe for trade. At this time piracy flourished 
in the Eastern Mediterranean, and piratic expeditions were 
organised on so large a scale that no power had been strong 
enough to interfere in the cause of order. The Romans 
accordingly took the matter in hand, and having first sent 230. 
envoys, who were murdered on their way home, they followed 
next year with an expedition. They subdued and severely 
punished the Illyrian pirates, and prohibited them from sending 
armed vessels in future south of a fixed point. Rome's action 
in this matter was a benefit to the Grecian states, which had 
suffered continually from the piracy but from their disunited 
condition had been incapable of grappling with it. Various 
Grecian states, therefore, gratefully made alliance with Rome ; 228. 
and when ambassadors went to explain that the Romans were 
actuated by benevolent motives only and not by desire of con- 
quest, they were well received and admitted to the Isthmian 
games. 

In order that their control of the pirates in the Adriatic 

might be lasting, the Romans established stations on the 

(563) 



564 EOME 

Illyrian coast, from which also their governors could keep a 
watch upon Macedonia, whose intentions were known to be 
hostile. 

Whilst Rome was thus strengthening the outposts of her 
empire, Italy remained at peace. It was becoming evident, 
however, that the easily-crossed Apennines did not form a 
sufficient frontier in the north, and that sooner or later she 
must extend her conquests to the Alps. The fine lands lying 
between the Alps and the Apennines were inhabited by Celtic 
tribes — ill disposed towards Rome, and ready to march against 
her on any pretence. After the first Punic war, the Boii and 
the Trans-Alpine Celts had invaded Italy ; but, quarrelling 
between themselves, had been easily discomfited. Some years 
later the tribes, finding that Rome was encroaching upon their 

226. territory and believing war to be only a question of time, 
resolved to strike the first blow, and descended upon Italy in 
great force. Rome was ill prepared for the invasion; and the 
Celts, crossing the Apennines, plundered Etruria and reached 
Clusium without serious contest. Gradually, however, the 
Roman armies closed upon them, and although the Celts were 
victorious in a preliminary engagement at Fsesulse, they were 

225. almost annihilated at Telamon. 

The Romans now determined to complete the work of 

222. subjugation ; and, after some hard fighting, the task was 
accomplished, and the Alpine frontier was reached. Measures 
were at once taken to secure what had been won. The 
more barbarous tribes were extirpated, fortified colonies were 
established at Placentia and Cremona, and a fine highway, 
the " Via Flaminia," was carried across the Apennines to 
Ariminum. 

Whilst the Romans were thus setting their house in order, 
the Carthaginians had not been idle. The first Punic war, 
followed as it had been by the serious Numidian revolt known 
as the Inexpiable War, had left Carthage in a state of depres- 
sion. She was still supreme on the coast of Africa, and had 
settlements in Spain, but she had lost the fertile islands of the 



A BEEATHING SPACE 565 

Mediterranean. Moreover, as the Romans had acquired Sicily 
and could at any time easily descend upon Africa from that 
island, no one could guess how long it would please Rome to 
leave her the relics of her former greatness. Under these 
circumstances it behoved patriotic Carthaginians to be up and 
doing, and Hamilcar, the general who had already shown such 
high ability and whose genius had brought the Numidian 
insurrection to an end, was chosen commander-in-chief. The 
ostensible business of Hamilcar was to check the border 
tribes, but he had other schemes in hand. As a patriotic 
Carthaginian he detested the city which had so humbled his 
own, and as a general he perceived that Rome could be best 
attacked in Italy. He had tried this successfully on a small 
scale whilst commanding in Sicily, and had he been adequately 
supported, the descent on Italy which he contemplated, and 
which Hannibal afterwards carried out, might have been made 
from the Sicilian side. With the loss of Sicily that chance 
had passed ; and, if Italy were to be invaded, it must be from 
some other quarter. Under these circumstances Hamilcar's 
mind turned to Spain, where Carthage had already a footing, 
and he determined to try to found an empire there to com- 
pensate her for the one which she had lost, and by means of 
which she might humble her proud oppressor. 

Keeping his own counsel and accompanied by Hannibal, 236. 
his son, Hamilcar marched west, apparently against the 
Libyans, but suddenly embarking his army in the fleet com- 
manded by Hasdrubal his son-in-law, which had followed 
him along the coast, he crossed to Spain. During the next 
eight years he did such service there that Cato, visiting 
Spain before the evidences of his work had been obliterated, 
declared that no king was worthy to be compared with 
Hamilcar. He died in battle at last, and was succeeded by 228. 
Hasdrubal, who continued the work which his father-in-law 
had so ably begun. The Romans watched the proceedings in 
Spain with some anxiety, but contented themselves with 
stipulating that Carthage should not cross the Ebro and with 226. 



566 EOME 

guarding the independence of Saguntum and Emporise, two 
ports south of the Ebro, where they could land troops if 
necessary. 
220. A. few years later Hasdrubal was assassinated, and the 

command of the army fell upon Hannibal, then in his twenty- 
ninth year. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE SECOND PUNIC WAR. 

No sooner was Hannibal appointed to the command of the 220. 
Spanish army than he determined to carry out his father's 
design, and make Spain his base for an attack upon Rome. 
The Spanish province was in excellent order, and stretched to 
the Ebro ; and he had a large army, well disciplined, and 
wholly devoted to him. Yet it was not upon his army that he 
relied chiefly in his proposed invasion, for he knew that 
numerically the Romans were greatly stronger than any force 
that he could bring against them. What he hoped for was 
that the Italian confederacy, which Rome had built up with 
such pains, would fall asunder. He knew that the Latins, 
Samnites, Bruttians, Celts, Tuscans and the rest had been in 
the main forced to join in the confederacy with Rome, and he 
hoped that just as the Numidians were disloyal to Carthage 
and glad of any occasion to revolt, so the subject members 
of the Italian confederacy would hail with gladness a chance 
to turn upon Rome. Events did not happen as Hannibal 
expected, for though outlying and lately-vanquished tribes 
like the Celts and Bruttians joined him, the Latins and other 
more important peoples who had become accustomed to Roman 
rule, and were not on the whole dissatisfied with it, surrounded 
the city as with a living barrier and shut their gates and their 
hearts against the foreign invader, until he had to retire dis- 
comfited. Nevertheless, the scheme was not wholly rash, and 
had the young general been better supported by Carthage 
it might even have been successful. 

Hannibal threw down the gauntlet by attacking Saguntum, 218. 

(567) 



568 EOME 

one of the treaty ports, which after an eight months' siege he 
stormed and captured, in spite of the protests of Roman envoys. 
It was impossible for Rome to overlook this defiance, and when 
an embassy sent to Carthage had unavailingly demanded the 
surrender of Hannibal, a request with which the Carthaginians 
could scarcely have complied had they been ever so willing, 
war was declared. 

Even now the Romans did not anticipate invasion, but 
thought that the war would be confined to Africa and to Spain, 
and that it would lie with them to take the offensive. Ac- 
cordingly the consuls set out leisurely, Cornelius Scipio making 
for Spain by way of Marseilles, whilst Sempronius Longus 
sailed for Sicily, whence he meant to sail to Africa. But 
the Romans were quickly undeceived, for Hannibal set 
219. out in the spring with 100,000 men, crossed the Ebro and 
made for the Pyrenees. He had hard fighting before he 
reached the mountains, and his army was reduced, partly 
by the fighting, partly by his allowing such soldiers as 
shirked the expedition, to return home. He made no delay, 
however, and when Scipio reached Marseilles he found that 
Hannibal was already at the Rhone. There was a four days' 
march between the armies, and when Scipio reached the 
crossing he found that Hannibal had passed and was nearing 
the Alps. Scipio, therefore, fell back on Marseilles, sent 
part of his army to Spain, and with the rest returned to Italy 
to find that Hannibal had crossed the mountains, and was 
in Cisalpine Gaul. 

Meanwhile the Roman Senate had recalled Sempronius in 
all haste, but before he could reach Northern Italy with his 
forces, Scipio himself attempted to check Hannibal's onward 
career. His army was smaller than that of Hannibal, and he 
avoided a pitched battle, but in a skirmish at the Ticinus was 
defeated and wounded, after which he fell back on Placentia 
and waited the arrival of the other consul. Sempronius soon 
came up, and the united armies now lay upon the river Trebia, 
confronting Hannibal. It was December, and Scipio would 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAE 569 

"have preferred to avoid a battle, but Seinpronius, who owing 
to Scipio's wound was in command, determined to end the 
matter, and, tempted by Hannibal, crossed the Trebia and 
fought at a disadvantage. The consequence was the utter 
rout of the Romans, followed by their retreat across the 
Apennines, and when Hannibal went into winter quarters it 
was with the comfortable assurance that the Celtic tribes were 
joining his army from every quarter. 

Next spring Hannibal set out early on his march. Two 217. 
Roman armies awaited him, barring what the consuls believed 
the only practicable routes southward. But Hannibal found 
a third, and though his army suffered greatly on the march, 
and he himself lost an eye by ophthalmia, he gained his 
point, and evaded the consul Flaminius, who was stationed at 
Arretium. Flaminius, piqued at being thus outwitted, and 
hearing that Hannibal was devastating the country, did not 
wait for the other consul to join him, but set out rapidly 
in pursuit of Hannibal, hoping to bring his career to an 
abrupt conclusion. This was just what Hannibal wanted, 
and waiting in ambush at the Trasimene Lake, he annihilated 
the Roman army. He might have easily marched upon 
Rome, but he knew that it was too strong to be successfully 
attacked by his forces. His hope lay not in sieges, but 
in the dissolution of the confederacy ; and so, after the 
battle of the Trasimene Lake, he marched through Umbria 
to the Adriatic coast, where his troops enjoyed a much-needed 
rest. 

Hannibal was now in an excellent position for observing 
Italy and seeing whether his victories would incline any of 
Rome's subjects to shake off her yoke, but so far his hopes were 
disappointed. Nor was he able during that year to distinguish 
himself again in the field. The Romans had elected Fabius 
dictator, and he adopted a waiting policy, avoiding a pitched 
battle, and trying to wear out Hannibal by watching him, 
cutting off stragglers, and making it hard to obtain supplies. 
But as Hannibal was ravaging the country on every side, 



570 EOME 

216. the Romans lost patience, and next year gave the consuls 
JEmilius Paulus and Terentius Varro a larger army than 
they had ever before put in the field, with orders to find 
Hannibal where they could and crush him. There seemed 
every probability of victory on this occasion, for the Roman 
army numbered 90,000 whilst Hannibal had but 50,000, all 
told. The consuls found the invader at Cannae and deter- 
mined on battle, advancing their infantry in a serried mass 
with cavalry on either wing. Hannibal met them with his 
army in the form of a crescent, the crown of which, composed 
of Celtic troops, was thrust forward, whilst the horns in which 
were his picked Spanish soldiers were drawn back. On one 
wing he posted his light cavalry, and on the other his heavy 
cavalry under Hasdrubal. At the first shock the Romans 
bore back the Celts, and pressed eagerly forward, think- 
ing to obtain an easy victory. But as the Celts were borne 
back, the horns of the crescent began to close, and the Celts 
halting, the Romans found that they were now attacked on 
three sides. To make matters worse, the heavy cavalry under 
Hasdrubal having in their first charge scattered the Roman 
cavalry on one wing, and by a second dispersed the cavalry 
on the other wing, by a third attacked the Roman infantry 
in the rear, so that they were surrounded on all sides. So 
crowded were they that they could not use their arms, and 
they had to stand still and be cut to pieces. Seventy thou- 
sand Romans fell on that fatal day, amongst whom were the 
consul, and eighty men of senatorial rank. After the battle 
10,000 men who had guarded the camp were taken prisoners, 
and to complete the tale of disaster, a legion which was pro- 
ceeding to Gaul fell into an ambush and was destroyed. 

After Cannse Hannibal was sorely tempted to march on 
Rome, but he refrained, and the fact that he did so refrain 
is sufficient evidence that the siege of Rome was beyond 
the power of his army. Now indeed was the testing time. 
He could never hope to have a greater success in the field, and 
if the confederacy was ever to break up it must be now. For a 



THE SECOND PUNIC WAE 571 

time it seemed as if his hopes would be realised. Capua 
revolted against Rome arid admitted his troops, the smaller 
tribes of Southern Italy and many cities of Apulia joined his 
standard, Philip of Macedon made alliance and promised to 
land troops on the coast, and Hieronymus, who had succeeded 
Hiero in Syracuse, joined the Carthaginians. But Hannibal's 
foreign allies proved of no account, the Latin colonies which 
lay like fortresses throughout Southern and Central Italy 
did not swerve, and the Greek cities of South Italy and Cam- 
pania remained loyal to Rome. Nay, more, although at first 
Rome had been panic-stricken, and it seemed as if she must 
succumb, the imminence of the danger brought out all that 
was best in 1 the people, political differences were forgotten, 
and rich and poor became one in the endeavour to save the 
state. No effort was spared to put new legions into the field, 
every one over the age of boyhood was called out, criminals 
were released and armed, and 8,000 slaves enrolled as volun- 
teers. When Hannibal offered to release his captives at a 
price, his offer was rejected, and he was given to understand 
that no negotiations could be held with him. The humblest 
Roman knew that peace was impossible until there was 
victory. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ROME AT BAY. 

216. If brilliant generalship could have beaten Rome, the war 
would now have been over, for so far as Hannibal and his 
army were concerned there had been no failure, but greater 
success than the most sanguine could have hoped for. But a 
city like Rome, whose full-armed strength was even yet about 
half a million men, which was itself fortified, and had subject 
to it many fortified cities throughout Italy, was not vanquished 
because it had lost three important battles. Hannibal had two 
chances of victory. If the confederacy dissolved, as he fondly 
hoped it might, Rome would be at his mercy. Should this 
chance fail him there was another, if those upon whom he had 
a right to depend proved loyal to him and poured reinforce- 
ments without stint into Italy. As regarded the former of 
these chances Hannibal seemed doomed to disappointment. 
Capua and much of Southern Italy joined him, but the solid 
Latin wall which surrounded Rome showed no sign of breaking 
down. True he might dash hither and thither almost unop- 
posed, but the cities which he would gladly have entered closed 
their gates, and his army was incapable of besieging the cities 
that still held to Rome, even in the provinces where his ad- 
herents were most numerous. Moreover, when communities 
such as Capua did join him, it was in half-hearted fashion, 
the people taking his side, whilst the nobles clung to Rome. 
As time went on, therefore, he began to see that so far as 
the dissolution of the Italian confederacy was concerned he 
had been building upon the sand. 

Hannibal's hope that Italy would be flooded with armies 

(572) 



EOME AT BAY 573 

sent to his aid proved equally vain. There were four sources 
from which these might come — Spain, Carthage, Sicily and 
Macedonia. Carthage might easily have sent large reinforce- 
ments, but indolence, selfishness and jealousy prevailed, and 
4,000 men were landed at Locri when 40,000 might just as easily 
have come. Hannibal's own brother Hasdrubal was in Spain, 
and spared no effort to help him, but he had ill-luck — the 
Roman armies were too strong for him, and when at length he 
forced his way through, it was almost too late. There seemed 
to be hope from Sicily for a time, for Hiero was dead and 
Hieronymus allied himself with the Carthaginians, but his 
motives were purely selfish, and he was speedily assassinated. 
Last of all Philip of Macedonia proved a bruised reed ; whether 
from indolence or jealousy of the greatness of Hannibal we 
know not, but he failed to render him the slightest service. 
He made preparations, but never crossed the Adriatic, and 
the Romans, perceiving his purpose, raised such a storm 
against him in his own country that he was kept quiet 
until the crisis was fully past. 

Although, therefore, the war lingered thirteen years longer, 
and Hannibal was never beaten in a pitched battle in Italy, 
Cannae was his greatest success, and a turning-point in his 
career. The Romans had learned their lesson, they fought no 
more pitched battles with the African lion, they merely waited, 
and wore him out. Instead of despairing they braced them- 
selves for more determined resistance. Something of their 
failure had been owing to the fact that their armies had been 
led by consuls, annually elected, instead of skilled generals; 
something more was owing to variance between the Senate and 
the citizens. This was perceived, and instead of wasting time 
in recrimination, all parties united to amend the errors of the 
past and to maintain an unbending attitude in the face of the 
common foe. Notwithstanding his victories, therefore, Hanni- 
bal's position did not improve. After Cannae he marched on 
Campania and wintered in Capua; but next year Marcellus and 
the consuls with three armies engaged him there, and he had 



574 EOME 

some slight reverses, and great difficulty at all times in holding 
his own. During the next five years the power of Rome 
212. steadily advanced, and that of Hannibal retrograded. Capua 
was blockaded by three Roman armies, with entrenched camps 
and fortified lines, against which Hannibal was powerless. 
When he found that he could not relieve the city he marched 
on Rome, hoping that the armies would raise the siege and 
give him the chance of another pitched battle, but they sat still, 
contenting themselves by merely sending a corps to watch his 
movements. They knew that his army was not suited for 
besieging Rome, and when he saw that the ruse had failed, he 

211. retired to the south of Italy. Shortly after Capua capitulated, 
and the Romans took terrible vengeance upon the inhabitants. 

The moral effect of the fall of Capua was immense, and 

209. when, shortly after, the Romans also recaptured Tarentum, 
which had been siezed by Hannibal some years before, it 
was evident that the end was approaching. Hannibal had one 
ray of light from Spain. His brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago, 
had varied fortune there, but at last defeated and slew the 

212. Scipios, and regained for Carthage all Spain south of the Ebro. 
For a time Roman fortune there was at a low ebb, nor was it 
improved by Nero who succeeded the Scipios, and proved a 
capable general but a bad diplomatist in a country which 
needed the one quite as much as the other. 

210. At last the Senate sent Publius Scipio, the son of the 
general who had been wounded at Ticinus and killed in 
Spain. Scipio was only twenty-seven years of age, but he 
was clever, and quickly showed his fitness for the post by 

209. surprising and capturing New Carthage with its stores and 
treasure. Next year he marched against Hasdrubal, who 

208. was preparing to join his brother in Italy, and a battle was 
fought at Bsecula in which Scipio claimed the victory, but 
Hasdrubal got past him, crossed the Pyrenees, reached Gaul 

207. safely and wintered there. Next spring he crossed the Alps 
and entered Italy. The Romans were alarmed, for the Gauls 
were joining his standard and there was unrest in Umbria 



EOME AT BAY 575 

and Etruria. Great efforts therefore were made, twenty-three 
legions mobilised, and armies sent north and south to prevent 
a junction between the brothers. Nero had the task of inter- 
cepting Hannibal, and whilst the Roman and Carthaginian 
armies were facing each other, messengers from Hasdrubal 
to Hannibal were captured by Nero's outposts and brought 
to the general. From their despatches he learned Hasdrubal's 
movements and acted so promptly that Hasdrubal was de- 
feated and slain whilst Hannibal was still waiting in Apulia. 
When the head of his brother was brutally thrown into 
Hannibal's camp he knew that his last hope had fled, and 
retreated to the south of Italy, whence he might escape to 
Africa at need. 

Nothing shows the exhaustion of Rome more clearly than 
this, that after Hannibal's hopes had been blasted by his 
brother's death, he was able to hold his own in Bruttium for 
four years. The war had lasted for eleven years, and the Roman 
finances were in a deplorable state. The pay of the soldiers 
was in arrear, the fields were untilled, many citizens had been 
killed, many impoverished, and some communities declared 
themselves incapable of helping further, whether with men or 
money. Little wonder, therefore, if the army and navy were 
reduced, and the war allowed to flag. Yet all far-seeing men 
realised that there was but a momentary pause in the conflict. 
The war against Rome was over, that against Carthage had 
to begin, but Rome needed a breathing space. 

Now that the tide had turned, the Carthaginians became 
alarmed and tried somewhat hysterically to make amends for 
past inaction. They had nothing now to divert their minds 
from Italy, for they had been driven from both Sicily and 
Spain, even Cadiz, the most ancient of Phoenician colonies 
there, having passed into Roman hands ; whilst Scipio, who 
had completed his work in Spain, had now returned to Rome 
and was preparing to invade Africa. With some idea of making 205. 
a diversion the Carthaginians sent Mago to Genoa, and when 
he had destroyed that city he endeavoured to rouse the Gauls 



576 EOMB 

and Ligurians. Had he been sent earlier, even two years 
before, when Hasdrubal was there, the result might have 
been important, but the golden opportunity had been lost. 
Hannibal was now too weak to profit by the diversion, nor 
could the attack upon Carthage be delayed by it, even for a 
day. 

Scipio was now in Sicily, preparing army and fleet for his 

204. expedition, and at last he crossed and landed near Utica un- 
opposed. There were rival Numidian kings, Massinissa and 
Syphax, and the former had been an ally of the Carthaginians, 
the latter of the Romans. The Carthaginians had, however, 
managed to reverse this, allying themselves with Syphax, 
and depriving Massinissa of his possessions, so that this able 
prince at once joined the army of Scipio, bringing with him 
only a few horsemen, but great ability, and undying hatred 
to Carthage. 

Scipio was not at first successful and had to entrench him- 
self during the winter, but in the spring he destroyed the 
Carthaginian camp in a night attack, and thereafter defeated 
the Carthaginians in a pitched battle. They now recalled 
Hannibal and Mago, and tried to make peace. Scipio offered 
reasonable terms, and many of the Carthaginians would have 
accepted them ; but others, deriving fresh hope from the 
arrival of Hannibal (Mago having died on the voyage), de- 
termined on further effort, and the peace negotiations were 
broken off. 

202. The final battle of the war was fought at Zama, on what 

is now the boundary line between Tunis and Algeria. The 
Carthaginians were defeated, Hannibal escaped with a hand- 
ful of men, and Carthage lay at the mercy of the conqueror. 
But Scipio did not besiege the city, and at last terms of peace 
were arranged by which Carthage retained her territory, 
but surrendered her navy, agreed to pay an indemnity of 
10,000 talents, about £2,500,000 sterling, and undertook 
never to wage war without the consent of Rome. The 
kingdom of Syphax, with much territory added, was trans- 



EOME AT BAY 577 

ferred to Massinissa, so that Carthage had now her inveterate 
enemy for a neighbour. 

The battle of Zama left Rome without a rival in the west, 
and it only remained for her to consolidate her position both 
at home and in those countries which had fallen to her by 
right of conquest. At home matters were settled with a high 
hand, and the allies of Hannibal treated with the utmost 
severity — the lands in Campania, Lucania, Apulia, Samnium 
and Picenum being confiscated, whilst the Bruttians were 
disarmed and permanently degraded, and colonies planted 
widely in order to make all secure. 

In the north measures were yet more drastic. The in- 
vasion of Italy by Hannibal had interrupted the subjugation 
of the districts north of the Apennines, and this had now 
to be completed. The work was not accomplished without 
trouble, for the tribes fought hard for their independence, 
but after a few years the struggle was over. A difference 
was made between the treatment of the tribes north and 
south of the Po. The Transpadane tribes, the Insubres and 
Cenomani, were allowed to keep their cantonal independence 
and were not asked to pay tribute, but left as a bulwark to 
keep off the incursions of Celtic tribes from the other side of 
the Alps. The gates of the Alps were definitely closed against 
the Celts, and such was the dread of the Roman name that 
the prohibition was respected. The southern tribes were 
treated differently ; they lost their independence, colonies and 
fortresses were planted amongst them, their lands were con- 
fiscated, and they themselves merged with their conquerors. 
The pacification of these regions was, after the usual Roman 
method, facilitated by the construction of roads, the Via 
Flaminia being extended to Placentia, whilst another and 
shorter road was laid across the Apennines, so that Rome had 
now an alternative route to her northern province. 

Spain had been conquered by Scipio, and divided into two 
provinces, Further and Hither Spain, but the country was not 
easily governed. The trading cities on the sea coast were glad 

37 



578 EOME 

of protection, whether Roman or Phoenician, but the warlike 
tribes of the interior were not readily subdued. The Romans 
had to keep 40,000 men in the peninsula, and though the wars 
were not on a large scale they were constant, and sometimes 
the Romans had reverses. It was impossible for Rome to 
carry out her system of annual relief from military service in 
the case of Spain, and this led to dissatisfaction amongst the 
soldiers. The province was at last brought into order by 
179. Tiberius Gracchus, who adopted a pacific policy, inducing the 
Spanish nobles to become officers in the army, and making 
equitable treaties with the various tribes, by which means he 
secured peace for nearly thirty years. 

Gracchus also quelled an insurrection in Sardinia, but in 
a less reasonable way. The inhabitants of the interior made 
frequent attacks upon the coast ports, so he carried the war 
into their own districts, and slew or sold into slavery 80,000 
islanders. 

Rome had emerged from the long war a different state, 
changed for the better in some ways, for the worse in others. 
Before the second Punic war her ambition had been confined 
by the shores of the peninsula, for though she had seized the 
islands of the Western Mediterranean their acquisition might 
be accounted for on defensive principles. But she had now 
greatly enlarged her borders, having provinces in Spain, and 
a protectorate in Africa. Still it could not be contended that 
Rome had sought these things ; she had fought in self-defence, 
and her new position had been thrust upon her. It now 
remained to be seen how she would meet those new responsi- 
bilities, whether, displaying true greatness of spirit, she would 
let the good of her subjects be her first consideration, or put 
her own selfish interests in the foremost place. Rome had 
reached the parting of the ways ; and unfortunately, like 
every other military power the world has known, she took 
the wrong turning. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SECOND MACEDONIAN WAR. 

The overthrow of Carthage, the settlement of Spain, and the 

complete subjugation of Italy cleared the political horizon for 

the Romans everywhere except in the east. More than once 

the east had forced itself unpleasantly upon Roman notice. 

First it was Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, whose ambitious 275. 

projects had to be brought to nought ; then came the Illyrian 230. 

war and the rooting out of piracy from the islands of the 

Adriatic ; and then, most serious of all, the troubles with 

Philip of Macedon during the invasion of Hannibal. Although 

Macedonia had fallen from the high position which it held at 

the time of Alexander's death, it was the most powerful of 323. 

the Greek states, and Philip ruled not only over Macedonia 

but over Thessaly, Euboea, Locris, Phocis, Doris and Corinth. 

He had therefore at his command a considerable force and 

had he been in earnest could have brought substantial aid to 

Hannibal. But though he allied himself with him, and 215. 

made fair promises, he did nothing, for when he began to 

move, the Romans easily raised a coalition against him, 

which neutralised his efforts and prevented him from crossing 205. 

to Italy. Some years afterwards a peace was arranged, and 

the first Macedonian war came to an end with little change on 

either side — except that the Romans now counted Philip as 

their enemy. 

The same year in which peace was arranged between Rome 

and Philip, Ptolemy Philopator, the king of Egypt, died, and 

was succeeded by an infant son, Ptolemy Epiphanes. Now 

at the death of Alexander his dominions had been divided 

(579) 



580 EOME 

into many sections, but these had gradually merged into 
three ; Macedonia, under Philip ; Syria, under Antiochus ; 
and Egypt, under the Ptolemies. Philip and Antiochus 
thought they had a chance of increasing their realms at the 

205. expense of the infant king, and conspired to partition Egypt, 
Antiochus proposing to seize Ccele Syria and Phoenicia, whilst 
Philip took Egypt's possessions in the iEgean and the Greek 
islands. 

The Greek States of the mainland were divided into two 
leagues — the iEtolian, which was anti-Macedonian, and the 
Achaean which was subject to Macedonian influence ; Sparta 
stood alone, governed by Nabis, a brigand ; and the commercial 
cities such as Rhodes, Byzantium and Pergamus had an inde- 
pendent league, at the head of which stood Rhodes, and which 
was a prosperous and powerful confederation. 

201. In accordance with his arrangement with Antiochus, Philip, 

aided by Prusias, king of Bithynia, crossed to Asia, captured 
Samos, attacked the towns on the Hellespont, and raided 
Pergamus, but his success went no farther for he was 
defeated by the combined fleets of the commercial league 
and Attalus of Pergamus, with the result that he returned 
to Macedonia for a time. This was the year when Rome made 
peace with Carthage ; and, when that was settled, the Roman 
politicians, looking eastward, realised that this violent and un- 
scrupulous man might if successful become as formidable an 
enemy as Hannibal had been. The Roman people were averse 

200. to a new war, but when Philip invaded Attica, and some 
feared that the next step would be an invasion of Italy, they 
took up arms and the second Macedonian war began. 

The Romans did not send a large force, and there is no 
reason to think that they contemplated permanent conquest ; 
but they had a real dread of Philip and genuine sympathy with 
the Greeks. At first the war went in favour of Philip but 
not for long. His character had not been of a nature to enable 
him to gather allies, and Rhodes, Byzantium, Pergamus and 

198. the states of the iEtolian league took the side of Rome. 



THE SECOND MACEDONIAN WAR 581 

After two campaigns Epirus and the Achseans also joined the 
Romans, and next year Flamininus fought the battle of 
Cynoscephalae in which Philip was completely vanquished. 197. 
Further resistance was impossible, and a peace was arranged 
by which he relinquished most of his conquests, and under- 
took to make no foreign alliance without the consent of 
Rome. Some of the Greek states would have been glad had 
Macedonia been annihilated, but the Romans refused to go 
to this extreme, realising that Macedonia might from its posi- 
tion be a valuable bulwark against invasions of Celts and 
Thracians from the north, and a guarantee for the good 
behaviour of Greece itself. 

Such possessions as Philip had in the south were divided 
amongst those who had supported the Romans, both Athens 
and the Achsean league receiving their share. Peace was not 
at once established, for Nabis with his freebooters defied the 
Romans at Sparta, but Flamininus at last compelled him to 
yield, though he left him his government. Finally, at the 
Isthmian Games Flamininus proclaimed the freedom of the 
Greek states and returned to Italy, taking his forces with 194. 
him. 

Rome had gained much by this second war against 
Macedonia; having protected the Greeks from aggression, 
broken the power of Macedonia, and removed a danger from 
herself. She acted unselfishly in that she did not appropriate 
the spoil, but divided it amongst the Greek states whose 
freedom she had declared. Peace reigned, and all would 
have been well had the Greeks been able to avoid intestine 
feuds, and taken united action for the common weal. Un- 
fortunately they did not act thus wisely, and Rome had much 
of the work to do over again. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SUBJUGATION OP THE EAST. • • 

After Philip and Antiochus had arranged to divide*Egypt's 
possessions between them, each of them set about securing his 
own share of the spoil. Antiochus had better fortune than 

198. his partner, for he defeated the Egyptian general Scopas, 
near the sources of the Jordan, and gained possession of the 
country as far as the Egyptian frontier. The guardians of 
the boy king, Epiphanes, being alarmed, consented to an 
arrangement by which Cleopatra the daughter of Antiochus 
was to marry their king, and Antiochus was confirmed in the 
possession of the outlying districts which he had conquered. 
The Syrian king therefore returned to his court in triumph, 
just at the time when Philip was overthrown at Cynoscephalse. 

197. Philip's troubles did not distress Antiochus, for he saw in 
them a chance of personal advantage, and proceeded to occupy 
the districts of Asia Minor which Philip had intended for 
himself. These districts embraced the Greek cities, which 
Rome had declared free, and from which they had compelled 
Philip to withdraw. 

The Rhodian League and Attalus the king of Pergamus 
had helped Rome against Philip, and believing that she would 
not desert them, they now resisted the aggressions of Antiochus. 
The Romans were loth to increase their responsibilities ; they 
were weary of the prolonged wars, and did not see that it 
mattered much to them what happened beyond the Helles- 
pont. Even when Antiochus crossed to Europe and began to 
turn Thrace into a satrapy, they confined themselves to diplo- 

194. matic protest. Indeed, at this very time Flamininus was 

(582) 



THE SUBJUGATION OF THE EAST 583 

withdrawing the legions from Greece and returning to Italy, 
but he acted too hastily, for his settlement of the affairs of 
Greece was but superficial. There were many discontented 
states, and if these chose to call in the help of Antiochus, 
there might yet be plenty of trouble for Home, especially as 
Hannibal, driven by the Romans from Africa, was now at the 
court of the Syrian king. 

Antiochus, realising that war was at hand, sought to 193. 
strengthen .his position by alliances with various friendly 
Asiatic states ; he also endeavoured to conciliate the Rho- 
dians and the inhabitants of the other Greek cities in Asia 
Minor. Meanwhile the iEtolians were pressing him to come 
to Greece, assuring him that the states there would rise, and 
promising an amount of support far beyond their powers. 
Hannibal also was urging him to take advantage of the oppor- 
tunity and raise a general war against Rome. But though 
Antiochus was ambitious enough, he had none of the qualities 
of foresight or generalship necessary to enable him to cope 
with Rome. When, at last, encouraged by the withdrawal of 
the Roman troops, he crossed the ^Egean, he brought with him 
only about 10,000 men — far too small a force for the work he 
had in hand — and to this force the iEtolians only added 4,000 192. 
troops. To make defeat yet more certain, he disregarded the 
advice of Hannibal in every particular, and sent away the 
Carthaginian general — who on shore would have been a host in 
himself — to command a fleet at sea. The Romans determined 191. 
to act quickly, and sent an army of 40,000 under Glabrio. 
Antiochus, incapable of meeting so great a force, retreated to 
Thermopylae and entrenched himself, but managed so badly 
that he was easily beaten and had to take refuge in flight. 
He escaped by ship to Ephesus, thus abandoning Europe at 
the first reverse. At his desertion, such Greek states as had 
sided with him, submitted to Rome, and most of the fortresses 
also surrendered. 

Antiochus was never likely to trouble the Romans in Europe 
again, but it was impossible for them to leave their Asiatic 



584 EOME 

allies in Pergamus, Rhodes and the Greek cities of the coast 
at his mercy, and it was decided, not without reluctance, 
to carry the war into Asia. The general chosen to lead the 
Roman legions across the Hellespont for the first time was 
Scipio, who was accompanied by his distinguished brother 
Africanus, and the way was cleared for them by Roman and 

190. Rhodian fleets which at Myonnesus swept the sea clear of the 
enemy's ships. After this defeat Antiochus lost confidence in 
himself, and tried to make peace, but Scipio refused his terms 
and advancing southward fought a great battle at Magnesia, in 

189. which Antiochus was utterly routed. In the peace which 
followed, Antiochus ceded all possessions in Europe, and every- 
thing in Asia west of the river Halys and Mount Taurus, and 
his rights of navigation and war were so curtailed that Syria 
ceased to be a great state. The Romans now tried so to settle 
Asia that it should give them no further trouble. West of the 
Syrian boundary as arranged by treaty lay Bithynia, Paphla- 
gonia and Galatia, which would act as buffer states between 
Rome and Antiochus, and west of these lay Pergamus and 
Rhodes — states which had been faithful to Rome and were 
therefore generously treated, obtaining accessions of territory. 
Pergamus received the Thracian Chersonese, much of Asia 
Minor, and the protectorate over such Greek cities as were 
not declared free, and thus became a powerful state, capable 
of checking Syria and Macedonia, if the interests of Rome 
should so require. 

Thus in a few years Rome had broken the power of Philip 
of Macedon and of Antiochus of Syria, the successors of Alex- 
ander, and had become installed as protector of Western Asia. 
Rome had no longer any foe of whom she need be afraid, 
and it was a pity that she went out of her way to hunt 
Hannibal to death. He was no longer young, and after the 
failure of Antiochus was not likely to do any further injury 
to Rome. Roman hatred however pursued him, and when he 
sought a refuge in various countries and found his enemies 
inexorable in their pursuit and on the point of capturing him 



THE SUBJUGATION OF THE EAST 585 

lie took poison and so escaped their hands. He was sixty- 183. 
seven years of age, and had fought against Rome from boy- 
hood. Perhaps it would have been better for his country had 
he let Rome alone, and contented himself with developing the 
resources of Spain. But this way of working was not in 
harmony with the spirit of the age, nor is it likely that Rome 
herself would have long permitted such development. About 
the same time as Hannibal, Scipio also died, much younger, for 
he was only fifty years of age, but a mortified and disappointed 
man. He had, however, himself to blame, for his successes 
turned his head and he made so many enemies by his arrogance 
that he left Rome in disgust and at his death forbade that 
his remains should be carried to the capital for burial. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE THIRD MACEDONIAN WAR. 

190. In marching against Antiochus, the Roman army had to pass 
through Macedonia and the adjacent districts, and their task 
would have been much harder had not Philip of Macedonia 
loyally helped them. In doing this he was actuated more by 
hatred of Antiochus than by love of Rome ; nevertheless, he 
expected the Romans to show him some gratitude, and indeed 
deserved to be rewarded. The Romans did show their ap- 
preciation of his services to this extent, that they sent back 
the hostages which they held from him, and also returned 
certain tribute moneys, but when peace was made with Anti- 
ochus and the spoils came to be divided amongst the allies of 
Rome, Philip did not get the accession of territory which he 
had expected. Worse still, his mortal enemy, the king of 
Pergamus, was presented with the Thracian Chersonese, and 
his kingdom materially strengthened, evidently in order that 
it might be a check upon Macedonia. 

It would have been suicidal for Philip to have at once 
shown his resentment, and he waited his time, preparing for 
a conflict with Rome by husbanding the resources of his 
country, and encouraging settlement, so that Macedonia con- 
tinually increased in population and strength. 

179. Philip died before he had a chance of again crossing swords 

with Rome, and was succeeded by his son Perseus, who went 

on with the preparations his father had begun. He tried to 

make alliances, and was on friendly terms with the Illyrians, 

the Thracians, and even with Antiochus. In most of the 

Greek states there was a reaction against Rome, and the 

(586) 



THE THIED MACEDONIAN WAE 587 

people were divided into two parties, the Roman and the 
Macedonian — the latter counting itself the patriotic party, 
and having Perseus for its hero. 

So steadily did the influence of Perseus increase, that the 172. 
Romans saw that unless they interfered he would speedily re- 
gain the power which it had taken two wars with his father to 
break, and so the third Macedonian war was begun. After the 
declaration of war Perseus showed much incapacity, for though 
he had ample time to organise an opposition to the Romans in 
every Greek state, and might have opposed the disembarkation 
of their forces, he did nothing. When, therefore, the legions 
landed without opposition, his allies fell from him in alarm, 
and he was left alone. Even then he might have made a 
brave stand, for he had a powerful army, and the Roman 
generals proved to be incapable men, but his generalship was 
beneath contempt, and for every mistake they made he made 
a greater. At last a new general, iEmilius Paulus, took 169. 
command of the Roman forces, and the condition of affairs 
at once changed — a decisive battle being fought at Pydna in 168. 
which the Macedonians were utterly overthrown. A few days 
after this defeat, Perseus surrendered and was taken to Italy, 
where he died. 

This, then, was the end of the empire which Philip of 
Macedon and his son Alexander had founded nearly two 
centuries before. The Romans having given the monarchy a 
fair trial now abolished it, and divided Macedonia into four 
districts, Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Pella and Pelagonia. On 
the principle adopted with some success in Italy, an attempt 
was made to isolate these communities by the prohibition of 
commercium and connubium between them. But methods 
which acted well in Italy where the communities were under 
continual observation were not suitable in Macedonia, and the 
arrangement proved, as we shall see later, so unsatisfactory 
that at last the Romans had to accept the responsibility of 
ruling the country themselves. 

Having settled with Perseus, the Romans next dealt 



588 EOME 

with those states which had given him either material or 
moral support. 

Illyria was split up as Macedonia had been ; Rhodes was 
deprived of its possessions on the mainland, and its commercial 
supremacy threatened by the formation of a free port at 
Delos. Pergamus, no longer needed now that Macedonia was 
destroyed, was reduced to a condition of dependence ; and 
when Eumenes, its king, hitherto a favourite at Rome, 
travelled to Italy to remonstrate, he was met at Brindisi 
and sent home again. 

The Greek states were treated with great severity. Many 
leading Greeks, known to favour Macedonia, were transported 
to Italy ; others were executed or massacred ; in Epirus 
seventy towns were destroyed, and their inhabitants sold 
into slavery. 

Whilst the third Macedonian war had been in progress, 
Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria, attempted the conquest 
168. of Egypt, and his army was lying before Alexandria when a 
Roman envoy arrived and ordered him to evacuate Egypt at 
once. He feared to disobey, and, when he had withdrawn, 
Egypt accepted a Roman Protectorate. 

The chief part of the empire of Alexander had now fallen 
under the power of Rome. Just one century had elapsed 
since the Senate with great hesitation allowed an army to 
cross from Rhegium to Sicily, and thus abandoned the 
exclusively Italian policy which had previously governed the 
state ; and now Rome was mistress of the Mediterranean and 
without a rival. Nor had she sought the position for herself. 
Up to the present point in history Rome had not been actuated 
by lust of empire, for it was because her sovereignty in Italy 
was imperilled that she had carried her armies to Africa, Spain, 
Greece and Asia. So far she had not been an aggressor, but 
had defended herself ; for even the first step, the acquisition of 
Messina, had in it much of the nature of self-defence. But 
whilst Rome was to some extent guiltless, yet the line of policy 
which she had marked out for herself was of an essentially 



THE THIED MACEDONIAN WAK 589 

selfish character, for she had determined to weaken every 
other nation in order that she might be safe. This was now 
the cardinal principle of her foreign policy, and it was not a 
farseeing principle, nor did it augur well for the happiness of 
the world which lay at her feet. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE EFFECT OF IMPERIAL EXPANSION ON THE PEOPLE. 

We have now reached an important epoch in the history of 
Rome. For a century the Romans had been engaged making 
an empire, and they had succeeded marvellously. Italy was 
united under their rule, Spain was pacified, Carthage crushed, 
Macedonia abolished, Egypt had become a protectorate, and 
Syria a state of the third rank. No civilised nation re- 
mained to dispute with Rome the sovereignty of the world. 
Moreover, as we have already seen, this empire had come in 
great measure unsought, and the conquering power had not 
shown more selfishness in the course of her century of conquest 
than was naturally to be expected. 

We must pause for a moment and see what effect ex- 
pansion of empire had upon the constitution and people of 
Rome — how far prosperity in foreign affairs brought happiness 
to the Romans and health to the state. 

Rome was six centuries old, and had seen in that time 
many important constitutional changes. For two and a half 
centuries she had tried a monarchy, but it had not given 
satisfaction, and it had been displaced by an oligarchy — the 
patricians keeping control over the affairs of state, and dividing 
the spoil. As Rome expanded the plebeians increased in num- 
bers and importance, until they could no longer be set aside, 
but became a corporation with their own assembly and officers ; 
and after much struggling gained equality in the eyes of the 
law with the patricians, and became equally eligible for offices 
of state. For the moment, therefore, the government of Rome 

was on republican lines ; and had the city remained at peace, 

(590) 



EFFECT OF IMPEEIAL EXPANSION ON THE PEOPLE 591 

domestic reform would have progressed, and the government of 
the people by the people become an accomplished fact. But 
just as this seemed likely to happen the wars began ; for many 
years Rome had no time to think of domestic reform, and 
when the wars were over the mischief was past mending — the 
constitution, the aristocracy and the populace were all on the 
downward road. 

As regarded the constitution, the lex Hortensia had finally 
established the legislative power of the tribal assembly of the 
plebs. But during the wars this popular assembly might as 
well have been non-existent, so completely did the Senate gather 
all political power within itself. Nor was this so much because 
the Senate sought this ascendency as because the emergency 
required that it should be supreme. When a nation is engaged 
in war a popular assembly may indeed watch but can scarcely 
control, and it was impossible for a large and cumbrous body 
like the tribal assembly to decide by its " aye " or " no " the 
intricate questions which hourly arose. The Romans there- 
fore wisely left the consideration of such questions to the 
Senate, until in time every question of first-class importance 
was decided by it. The Senate was not now confined to the 
patrician families, for these had dwindled in numbers, and a 
new aristocracy had arisen, embracing within its ranks not 
only the patricians but also wealthy plebeians and men who 
had distinguished themselves as officials. This gave the 
Senate great power, and it monopolised the government and 
controlled the magistracies. It became largely an assembly 
of officials, and Rome was ruled by a bureaucracy. It must 
be acknowledged that during the crucial period of foreign con- 
quest which Rome passed through, the Senate did its work 
well, and it was because of this, and because there was evi- 
dently no better way of doing the work at the time, that the 
Romans acquiesced in what was practically the overthrow of 
the constitution. Nevertheless, this subversion of the constitu- 
tion and suspension of domestic reform were part of the price 
the Romans paid for the expansion of the empire. 



592 EOME 

Unfortunately whilst power was thus falling back into 
the hands of an aristocracy, whether patrician or plebeian, the 
aristocracy was becoming less fit to wield it. In the earlier 
days Rome had governed herself, and those who came under 
her sway, with republican simplicity. Her consuls, generals, 
and envoys were plain men who left the plough to do her 
bidding, and returned to the plough when their work was done. 
During her Italian wars Rome had no need for governors of 
provinces. When she conquered she either left the vanquished 
their old right of self-government, subject to treaty, or merged 
them under the common rule, or destroyed them utterly. But 
after her great wars, it became necessary to govern distant 
provinces, and new difficulties arose. Had Rome developed 
a provincial civil service and administered her provinces largely 
by permanent officials, all might have been well, but this was 
not done. When a governor left Rome for his province he 
took with him his own friends as officials ; they did not remain 
long enough in the country to take an interest in it or to learn 
the business of administration, and the temptation to make 
hay whilst the sun shone was too much for most of them. They 
were too far away to be adequately controlled, and though a 
tribunal was appointed to inquire into charges made against 
them, it was so entirely in the hands of their friends that they 
were protected no matter what their delinquencies might have 
been. The same was true of the Roman generals. When 
military men were pouring wealth into the treasury, it was no 
matter of surprise that they should make their own fortunes at 
the same time. Rome was becoming prosperous, and prosperity 
was trying her more than ever adversity did. She had now 
everywhere, at home and abroad, prizes worth the seeking, 
and the claimants were neither few nor scrupulous. The 
provinces acquired were rich in mineral wealth, pasture and 
grain-growing lands, and governors gave concessions and 
tracts of country liberally to their friends, whilst the indirect 
taxes and the customs dues were farmed to publicani who soon 
became millionaires. As the government was monopolised by 



x/tt 






12 




+ 



20 



EFFECT OF IMPEEIAL EXPANSION ON THE PEOPLE 593 

the Senate, most of the wealth fell into the hands of senators 
and their friends, and republican simplicity became a legend of 
the past. Men who had lived as kings abroad did not care to 
live as simple citizens when they came home, and the houses 
of the aristocracy were often palaces filled by hosts of de- 
pendants and slaves. 

Unfortunately, whilst some persons had grown extremely 
rich, the masses of the people were becoming poor. Two 
causes operated in the impoverishment of the Roman people — 
the decline of agriculture, and the introduction of slave 
labour. Some of the provinces were exceedingly fertile, 
and produced grain in such abundance, that even when the 
cost of carriage was added it could be landed in Rome cheaply 
enough. But the governors of these provinces, for the sake 
of gratifying the people and obtaining their votes, frequently 
sent large gifts of grain to Rome, so that the people received 
it either at a nominal price or for nothing. No industry 
could compete against this, and the small farmers, who had 
lived by agriculture, drifted into Rome. Worst of all Rome 
enslaved some of the peoples whom she conquered and the 
curse of slavery fell upon Italy. The number of slaves in- 
creased to an alarming extent when Roman generals found 
that money could be made out of even the poorest tribes by 
sweeping them into the slave market. Slaves were soon em- 
ployed everywhere — in country and town. It was cheaper 
for a land-owner to work his estate by slave labour than by 
the labour of freemen ; and cheaper for a manufacturer to 
employ slaves than freemen in his factory, his shop or 
his counting-house. The results were those which have 
always followed the introduction of slavery. First, manual 
labour was looked upon as a degradation. No greater curse 
can fall upon a people than that it should despise manual 
labour and reckon idleness as synonymous with gentility. 
The evil was specially felt in Italy because the men doomed 
to slavery by the Romans were often better educated than 

their masters, so that they were not only fit to be used as 

38 



594 EOME 

mere labourers but also as artisans, clerks, shopkeepers and 
managers. The slave not only followed the plough, but 
managed the estate. The result of this was ruinous to the 
Romans as a people. In early days there had been two classes 
in Rome — the patricians and the plebeians, and though there 
was friction between them, yet each class did its own work in 
its own way, and there was no room for idle men. There 
were now three classes ; at one end of the social scale the rich, 
at the other end the slaves, and between them a mass of free 
citizens who had the franchise but were without occupation, 
too proud to dig, but not ashamed to live upon alms. 

Matters were made worse by the treatment of the pro- 
vincials after the Hannibalic wars — the Roman burgesses laying 
upon them far more than their share of state burdens. When 
to this oppression of the provincials we add the employment 
of slave labour on the farms, and remember that in Rome 
bread was to be had for nothing, we need not wonder if there 
was a drift of the population to the capital, so that it became 
overcrowded, whilst the country was denuded of free men. 

The introduction of slavery on a large scale also led to the 
moral and religious degeneracy of the people. Traffic in 
human flesh always leads to immorality, and Rome was no 
exception to the rule. The old days of simplicity and austerity, 
the sacredness of marriage and the purity of family life had 
gone for ever, while luxury, slavery and vice walked hand in 
hand. With the ancient simplicity of life disappeared the 
ancient simplicity of religion. The early worship had been 
severely plain ; the father was priest for the household, the 
king for the people. But now new gods, new beliefs and new 
forms of worship made their way into Italy. The Romans, 
like most idolaters, had been tolerant of the faith of others. 
The man who believes in many gods is ipso facto in favour of 
religious freedom, neither expecting nor desiring that other men 
should worship his patron deity. Accordingly Rome had been 
in the\ habit of opening its Pantheon to the gods of such 
nations as she conquered from time to time. So long as these 



EFFECT OF IMPEEIAL EXPANSION ON THE PEOPLE 595 

nations were simple folk this liberality did no harm, but as 
time went on her dominion spread over peoples more ad- 
vanced than herself in wickedness, and the little leaven had 
leavened the lump. The worship of Bacchus, Cybele, and other 
gods was introduced, and abominable rites were practised in 
the name of religion. 

This condition of things was the more harmful as the Roman 
populace monopolised such political power as was left to the 
people. Legally the rights of citizenship were widely distri- 
buted, but men who lived at a distance did not attend the 
Comitia, so that the election of magistrates and the passing 
of laws were in the hands of the citizens who resided in Rome 
and its suburbs. If therefore politicians were ambitious of 
office the first essential was that they should stand well with 
the populace, and their attempts to win them by gifts of corn, 
gladiatorial shows and bribery in every shape corrupted the 
people to a lamentable extent. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE CRUSHING OF THE NATIONS. 

We mentioned in a previous chapter that the Romans had 
divided that portion of Spain which they had won from the 
Carthaginians into two provinces, named respectively Hither 
and Further Spain. These provinces lay towards the east, and 
between them and the Atlantic there dwelt many unconquered 
tribes. That part of the peninsula which we now call Portugal 
was inhabited by a warlike people called the Lusitanians, who 

154. invaded Further Spain and were at first victorious. Other 
tribes made common cause with them, and so serious did 
the Romans think the crisis that in order to send reinforce- 

153. ments to Spain without delay they made their consuls enter 
office two and a half months before the usual time, thus 
changing the date of the consular year from the 15th March 
to the 1st January. Before the consuls reached Spain the 
Romans had been severely beaten, and even when they took 

152. charge of the war they were at first unsuccessful. Next year 
Marcellus was sent who, being both an excellent general and 
an astute statesman, at length terminated the war — granting 
the enemy an honourable peace. 

The pacific views of Marcellus did not suit his successors 
Lucullus and Galba, and they reopened the war, and carried it 

151. on with unexampled perfidy and cruelty. During this period 

149. a hero arose amongst the Lusitanians named Viriathus, a man 

of humble origin but possessed of remarkable qualities both 

physical and mental. For some years he had great success 

against the Romans, but at last they bribed his officers to 

assassinate him. After his death Lusitania was easily subdued, 

(596) 



THE CRUSHING OF THE NATIONS 597 

but rebellions broke out in other provinces, and especially in 
the north. The insurrection eventually concentrated in the 
city of Numantia where the consul Quintus Pompeius was 141. 
severely handled and had to make a dishonourable peace which 
the Senate refused to ratify. Accordingly war continued for 
eight years more, until the brave city, besieged by Scipio iEmi- 
lianus, surrendered to famine and was razed to the ground. 133. 
Many of the inhabitants had already perished, others killed 
themselves before the surrender, the survivors were sold into 
slavery. A guerilla warfare continued on a small scale, but 
Spain was now comparatively peaceful, and became one of 
the most prosperous of the Roman provinces. 

Thirteen years before the fall of Numantia a much greater 
city had been destroyed. Enjoying the blessings of peace, 201. 
Carthage, after the manner of great trading cities, had 
recuperated rapidly, so rapidly indeed that the jealousy of the 
Romans was kept continually alive. Hannibal had shown so 
much administrative ability when he was head of the state 
for a few years after Zama that the heavy contribution 
demanded by Rome was paid without trouble, and the city 
seemed entering upon a new era of prosperity. The great 
general was the first victim to Roman jealousy, his surrender 
was demanded, and when he fled to the east his property was 
confiscated and his house destroyed. One would have thought 
Carthage might now have been left in peace, but this was not 
to be. Stories were brought to Rome, telling of the wonderful 
progress of her commercial rival, and though a few Romans 
were enlightened enough to perceive that the prosperity of 
Carthage could be made to minister to that of Rome, the 
mercantile community, which was becoming increasingly selfish 
and narrow-minded, could only see in the development of 
Carthage a menace to themselves. 

The treaty of peace made with Carthage seemed framed 
with the deliberate intention of driving the city to despair. 
Rome had taken under her protection Massinissa, king of the 
Numidians, whose territory surrounded that of Carthage on all 



598 EOME 

sides, and he was encouraged to make frequent encroachments 
on the territory of the Carthaginians, and to enlarge his 
boundaries at their expense, whilst they were sternly pro- 
hibited from making war upon him. They appealed to 
Rome from time to time, and commissions were sent, but they 
gave no redress. Marcus Cato being sent on one of these 
commissions was so astonished at the grandeur of Carthage 
that he returned determined to have the city destroyed. The 
best men in Rome opposed his cruel suggestion, but Cato's 
views got much support amongst the merchants who hoped to 
reap financial benefit by the downfall of a city which they 
counted a commercial rival. 

A pretext for war was, therefore, sought by the Romans 

154. and soon found. Another quarrel arose with Massinissa, 
originating in a case of barefaced encroachment, but the 
wily Numidian submitted the question to Rome, and took 
occasion to point out that the Carthaginians were collecting 
stores and troops and preparing for war in violation of their 
treaty. Meanwhile his encroachments went on, and he laid 
siege to a Carthaginian city, so that they had no alternative 

152. but to make war upon him. The Carthaginian general was 
incapable and Massinissa was victorious, but the Romans had 
now the long desired opportunity to destroy their victim. 
Carthage sent an embassy to Rome to explain how war had 
been forced upon her, but the explanation fell upon deaf 
ears. The Romans had made up their minds — Carthage 
must be blotted out. 

149. Even after the purpose of Rome was sufficiently manifest 

and a huge army had landed in Africa, the Carthaginians 
struggled to escape from the net which encircled them. 
They offered to make peace on any terms whatever, and when 
ordered to send 300 hostages as a preliminary they at once 
complied. Then the consuls at the head of the army insisted 
on complete disarmament, and this command was also obsequi- 
ously obeyed. When the disarmament had been carried out, the 
consuls threw off the mask and informed the wretched citizens 



THE CRUSHING OF THE NATIONS 599 

that their city was to be destroyed, but that they might settle 
anywhere else they liked, so long as the place chosen was ten 
miles from the sea. At this brutal intelligence the Phoenicians 
turned upon their enemy with the fury of despair. 

Deluding the consuls with negotiations they gained a few 
weeks of breathing space and during that time the inhabitants, 
man, woman and child, worked night and day to replace the 
arms which had been surrendered, and to restore the defences 
which had been dismantled ; and when the consuls at last ad- 
vanced, expecting to find the city an easy prey, they found its 
gates barred and its walls covered with armed men. Carthage 
was naturally a strong city, being surrounded on three sides 
by the sea, and the consuls made little progress with the 
siege. 

Next year new consuls, Mancinus and Piso, were sent, but 148. 
they did no better than their predecessors, and had the general- 
ship of the Carthaginians been equal to the earnestness of the 
inhabitants things might have gone very badly for Rome. 
At last, however, the Romans made a supreme effort, sending 147. 
Scipio ^Emilianus, the adopted son of the Scipio family, who 
had already distinguished himself in Spain. With Scipio's 
appointment there was a change. The siege was renewed with 
energy, an important suburb was captured, and the city in- 
vested by land and sea, so that famine and pestilence soon 
fought on the side of Rome. 

At length an entrance was forced, but even then for six 146. 
days the citizens fought from house to house, from street to 
street. When the remnant took refuge in the citadel Scipio 
had the surrounding streets levelled and burnt, and in the 
conflagation many, who had hidden in the cellars of the 
ruined houses, were burned to death. A deputation came 
from the citadel to plead for bare life, and, when it was 

Q ranted, 50,000 emaciated wretches issued forth. Nine 
undred stayed in the citadel, and these setting fire to the 
temple in which they had assembled perished in the flames. 
By command of the Senate the entire city was razed to the 



600 EOME 

ground, and when the ruins had burned for seventeen days 
the plough was passed over the site. 

The Carthaginian territory was turned into a Roman 
province, under the administration of a governor who 
made Utica his capital. Massinissa had died during the 
siege, so his dominions were divided between his sons, 
who acknowledged Roman suzerainty. The Roman mer- 
chants flocked to Utica, and greedily began to turn to 
account the province which Rome had acquired with so much 
barbarity. 

After the battle of Pydna the Macedonian monarchy was 
terminated, and the country divided into four independent 

167. districts. The arrangement did not work well, and a pre- 
tender arose, who declared himself the son of Perseus, and 
who, after gaining some successes, was hailed as king by all 
Macedonia and even mastered a portion of Thessaly. This 

149. pretender, whose real name was Andriscus, was victorious 
over Juventius the Roman praetor, but the next year he was 

148. completely defeated by Metellus and captured, after which 
Macedonia was made into a Roman province. Some years 
later Alexander, another pretender, arose, but he was overcome 
by the Romans without difficulty, and after that Macedonia 
made no further sign. 

In their first settlement of the affairs of Greece the 
Romans had acted generously, declaring the states free, but 
they did not sufficiently realise the divisions that existed 
between the states and were too precipitate in the withdrawal 
of their forces. As a consequence some of the states joined 
Antiochus a year or two after, and every insurrection against 
Roman power had its sympathisers amongst the Greek states, 
so that there was no finality, and little gratitude to Rome 

147. for her forbearance. Rome therefore changed her methods. 
During the last Carthaginian war the Achaean League had 
held a conference at Corinth, and in defiance of the efforts 
of the Roman envoys determined to go to war with Sparta. 
The Romans sent Mummius with an expedition and the 



THE CRUSHING OF THE NATIONS 601 

army of the league was defeated at Leucopatra, whereupon 
the cities of the league submitted and Mummius entered 
Corinth in triumph. The Romans sent ten senators to settle 
the affairs of Greece with Mummius and in most things they 
acted wisely, but they had one barbarous mission to perform. 
This was the year in which Carthage was destroyed, and the 
Senate ordered Mummius to treat Corinth in the same way. 
He accordingly removed some of the works of art for which 
the city was famous and then burned it to the ground. 

The deed was the more horrible because it was done at the 
instigation of the mercantile party from selfish motives. When 
Carthage was destroyed there was at least this excuse, that 
the city had been a danger in the past and might become a 
danger in the future ; but there was no such excuse with 
regard to Corinth. The city was destroyed, partly, no doubt, 
as a warning to the Greeks ; but principally, it is to be feared, 
because it was the first commercial city in Greece — a rival, as 
the Roman merchants ignorantly thought to themselves. The 
destruction of Carthage and Corinth in one year shows how 
sadly Rome was drifting. Bad though the lust of empire may 
be, the lust of gain is worse. Rome had conquered the world 
for her protection ; she was now destroying it to satisfy her 
greed. 

It will be remembered that the kings of Pergamus, at 
first favoured by the Romans, had afterwards been treated 
with less consideration. The royal family came to an end, 133. 
and its last member left a will bequeathing his kingdom to 
Rome. The Romans accepted the bequest, and thus the 
Roman province of Asia began, becoming eventually the most 
lucrative of all the provinces, and furnishing " an inexhaustible 
field for money making in every form ". 

Before passing from this period it should be noted that 
during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes in Syria there was 
much religious persecution, the king foolishly endeavouring to 
crush out the national religions. Two of the subject nations 
strenuously resisted. The Jews, led by the famous Maccabaean 167. 



602 EOME 



family, broke into revolt and held their ground against all 
the forces Syria could muster ; and the Parthians, under 
Mithridates I., severed themselves from Syria, and, conquer- 
ing the surrounding provinces, began a political movement 
destined to be of far-reaching importance. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE GRACCHI. 

Rome had now been engaged in foreign warfare for a century 
and a half, and during that period the Senate had been the 
ruling body, and had done its work, if not always well, at least 
better than the popular assembly could have done it. For the 
Roman popular assembly was not a gathering of representa- 
tives of the people, who could sit continuously and deliberate 
calmly, but a gathering of the people themselves, or such of 
them as were to be found in Rome, and without great re- 
form it could hardly have become a useful instrument of 
executive government in a time of public peril. The Senate 
was a less cumbrous body, and as the danger of the wars, 
especially of the Hannibalic, united all classes in a bond of 
national zeal, the Senate did its duty. When, however, the 
strain of the wars was over, and the provinces which Rome 
had acquired offered wide opportunities for gain, the senators 
became less patriotic, and as the generation which had known 
Rome in her humbler times passed away, less worthy men took 
their places, men who only thought of wealth, and of the preser- 
vation and increase of their privileges. Unfortunately success 
in foreign conquest may run parallel with much domestic misery, 
and Rome was getting into a lamentable condition at home. In 
earlier times her wealth had been mainly agricultural, and her 
freeholders had been her bulwark. It was the small farmers 
who had fought her battles with such stoutness of heart and 
strength of arm, and if any class of the community deserved 
special consideration it should have been extended to them. 

But the trend of events had been the other way. The reasons 

(603) 



604 EOME 

for this have been dealt with in a previous chapter, but we may 
again note that the chief instrument of their ruin had been the 
introduction of slaves in such numbers that it had become 
cheaper to use slaves than free labourers. The nobles and 
capitalists bought up land wherever they could, and culti- 
vated their huge estates by slave labour, so that poorer 
citizens lost their chance of employment. At the same 
time it was common for governors of provinces to increase 
their popularity by sending great supplies of grain to Rome 
for distribution amongst the people, at the expense, of course, 
of the subjects who had raised it. Those two things, the im- 
possibility of finding work in the country and the cheap food 
and excitement to be had in Rome, drew the people there con- 
tinually ; but as slaves were used in the shops and factories of 
Rome as freely as on the estates in the country there was little 
for the freemen to do, and they became dependants upon the 
wealthy, until at last the capital was thronged with idle people 
becoming more worthless every day. It would have been a 
terrible state of affairs under any circumstances, but it was the 
more terrible seeing that this Roman mob was aspiring to rule 
the world. 

There were in Rome men who saw how the state was 
drifting, and some of them tried to provide a safety valve by 
establishing colonies, and distributing vacant lands in the 
districts which had been conquered, and from which the 
inhabitants had been expelled, and by these means the con- 
gestion had been occasionally relieved. But the settlements 
did not always prosper, for the colonists were often unfit to 
be farmers, and they gravitated back towards Rome. At last 
even these spasmodic efforts ceased, and the social and economic 
condition of affairs in Rome became worse and worse. 

The mischief was not confined to the capital, for the in- 
fluence of Rome was now widespread. The methods which 
were' ruining the freemen of Italy also played havoc in the 
provinces. Sicily, for instance, had been divided amongst 
Roman capitalists, and the island was covered with plantations 



THE GEACCHI 605 

and pasture lands worked by gangs of slaves with a cruelty to 
which no parallel is found in modern slavery. The slaves were 
treated like brutes ; they could be bought so cheaply that their 
lives were of little consequence to their masters, and they could 
be worked to death with impunity. In the Southern States of 
America good slaves were always expensive, and though there 
were bad owners there as elsewhere, yet most masters treated 
their slaves humanely even from self-interest. In Sicily the 
treatment of slaves was barbarous in the extreme, and as 
they were very numerous there were frequent riots. At 
length a rebellion broke out under Ennus and Cleon, and 135. 
70,000 slaves were in arms at one time. The Roman prsetor 
was routed, and the Romans had three years of fighting 
before they ended the war by the capture of the strongholds 
of Tauromenium and Enna, and the crucifixion of 20,000 
slaves. Thus, whilst Rome was supreme over the world, she 
had need to set her own house in order. She was exchanging 
a free for a slave proletariate, and her burgesses were becoming 
an idle rabble. Her subjects in the more distant provinces lay 
at the mercy of governors, concessionaires and tax farmers. 
Her Italian subjects had to bear more than their share of the 
burden, and yet were without the franchise and every other 
right of which they could be deprived. And to make matters 
still more desperate, at the head of affairs stood a Senate 
which had become hopelessly corrupt and wholly self-seeking, 
and a popular assembly representing only the worst section of 
the Roman people. 

Such, then, was the condition of things when Tiberius 133. 
Gracchus the Tribune entered the lists as a reformer. He 
was the grandson of Scipio Africanus, the son of Sempronius 
Gracchus, who had been consul forty years before. His mother, 
Cornelia, was one of the most accomplished women of the age, 
and his sister was married to Scipio JEmilianus, the general who 
had been sent by the Senate to destroy Carthage. Tiberius 
Gracchus was, therefore, a man of some influence, and the 
measures he proposed were of a serious character. Recognising 



606 EOME 

that the agrarian difficulty was the most pressing, he devoted 
himself to it first. The public lands of Italy had been absorbed 
by nobles and capitalists ; some of it for private cultivation, 
377. some of it for grazing purposes. Many years before, an attempt 
had been made to prevent this appropriation ; and citizens 
had been forbidden to occupy more than a definite amount of 
public land, or to turn out more than a limited number 
of cattle and sheep on the common pasture, but the law 
had not been observed. Tiberius Gracchus proposed that 
the law should be enforced, that the occupation of common 
land should be restricted to a definite area, and that the 
surplus should be divided amongst the citizens in inalienable 
lots — the new occupants sitting at a moderate rent and on 
permanent lease. A board of three commissioners was ap- 
pointed to carry out the scheme. 

Of course, this redistribution of land was not a matter 
which could be carried into effect without causing grievances 
to arise. Many had been in possession of their lands for a long 
time, and thought it was hard that they should be ousted. But 
their possession had originated in defiance of the Licinian law, 
and in any case it was better that large capitalists should 
suffer a diminution of income than that the state should be 
ruined. 

Part of the speech in which Tiberius Gracchus introduced 
his measure is on record. 

" The wild animals of Italy," he said, " have their dens and 
lairs, the men who have fought for Italy have air and light, 
nothing more. They are styled masters of the world, though 
they have not a clod of earth they can call their own." 

From the beginning the Senate espoused the cause of the 
landholders and fiercely opposed the reform. They found an 
ally in Marcus Octavius, one of the tribunes, who vetoed the 
proposals, but when Gracchus saw that there was no other way, 
he got the assembly to depose his colleague and thus carried 
the measure. The senators made no secret of their determina- 
tion to have vengeance, and Tiberius Gracchus, aware of his 



THE GRACCHI 607 

danger, only appeared in public well guarded, a precaution 
which added fuel to the flame. Roman offices of state were 
annual ; and though a tribune was inviolable during his year 
of office, he could be impeached as soon as it was over. As 
the senators declared their intention of impeaching Gracchus, 
he knew that his only chance of safety lay in re-election, 
and with this view made further proposals for the benefit of 
the people ; but when the election day came there were fierce 
riots in which he and 300 of his adherents were killed. This 
was a terrible day for Rome. Though contests between the 
classes and the masses had extended over centuries, civil blood- 
shed had hitherto been avoided, but the charm had been 
broken, and during the next century there was enough and 
to spare. 

Although Tiberius Gracchus was assassinated, his law had 
been passed, and the Senate dared not obstruct its operation. 
The commissioners accordingly began to carry it into operation, 
working with so much energy that in six years the number of 
burgesses had increased by 76,000. So far the application of 
the law was beneficent, though doubtless there were cases of 
individual hardship, but the commissioners went too far, and 
began to deal with lands occupied by Latins, upon which the 
Latins, who had already enough to bear, appealed to Scipio 129. 
^Emilianus to interfere on their behalf. Scipio accordingly 
had a decree passed to suspend the distribution until the 
matter was further considered. Scipio had reason on his side, 
for interference with the Latin communities might have led 
to revolution, but doubtless his action gave offence to those 
who wanted the division to proceed. In the midst of the 
discussion he was found dead in his bed, but it is not known 
whether he was assassinated or not. 

The distribution of land was not resumed after the death 
of Scipio, but the democratic agitation went on under the 
leadership of the men who had been carrying out the work. 
Flaccus proposed to give citizenship to the Italians, but could 
not carry his point, both Senate and citizens being against 



608 EOME 

him. The citizens were willing to support any reform which 
filled their pockets, but refused to allow others to share,, 
for they regarded Roman citizenship as a privilege bringing 
with it substantial perquisites, and concluded that the fewer 
there were of them the better they would fare. 

The rejection of the proposal of FJaccus caused such outcry 
in Italy that the Latin colony of Fregellse, which had voiced the 
feeling of the Italians in this matter, and was the second city in 
Italy, revolted. But the revolt spread no farther. Fregellae 
was surprised, captured, deprived of its walls and privileges 
and turned into a village. Its fate alarmed the rest of the 
Italians, and they held their peace. 
123. Next year Gaius Gracchus, the younger brother of Tiberius, 

returned from Sardinia, and was elected tribune. With 
high ability and determination, he went forward on the path 
of reform, knowing that like his brother he would pro- 
bably have to pay for his enterprise with his life. He was 
tribune for two years, and worked very earnestly. The laws 
which he passed were numerous, and affected many classes. 
Knowing that the Senate had killed his brother, and would 
probably kill him, he tried to break its power. The aristocracy 
of Rome was composed of two sections — the one representative 
of birth, the other of wealth. Rome was rich, and had her 
bankers, shipowners, merchants and public companies, just as 
we have them to-day. Gracchus thought that he might 
divide the Senate by conciliating the moneyed interest; and he 
established the " equites," an order of moneyed men with 
special privileges, and also changed the system of tax collecting 
in Asia, putting the taxes up to auction, and thus opening a 
new field for capitalists. In order to keep the poorer citizens 
on his side, he started monthly doles of corn, thus tempting 
men to remain in Rome and furnish him with a bodyguard 
and a majority in the assembly. These were not good laws, 
but they were passed by him in order that his position might 
be secure enough to enable him to go farther. 

He aimed at restricting the power of the Senate and 



THE GEACCHI 609 

restoring to Roman citizens the political freedom to which 
they had attained before the wars, when, after long effort, the 
plebeians had been raised to a level with the patricians. Since 
that time the Senators had usurped the functions of govern- 
ment, and Gracchus determined to break down their authority 
as much as he could. He took from them the control of the 
court which had been established for the trial of charges of 
misgovernment in the provinces. He also took away their 
power to inflict summary punishment on Roman citizens ; and 
he ordered that jurymen should no longer be chosen from the 
senators, but from the class of " equites " which he had recently 
organised. 

For the relief of the people he renewed the agrarian law 
which his brother had passed, though the renewal had no 
practical effect. He planted colonies at Tarentum and 
Capua, and also proposed to establish a transmarine colony 
to be called Junonia, on the site of Carthage. The idea of 
colonising beyond the sea was novel, and might have been 
fruitful of good, but after his death it was abandoned for 
a time. 

Had Gaius Gracchus confined himself for a year or two to 
measures which operated for the special advantage of dwellers 
in Rome, he might have kept his position and increased his 122. 
f»ower. But in his second tribunate his sense of justice made 
him attempt to extend the franchise to the Latins, and to 
improve the condition of the Italian communities generally. 
This was common justice and would have benefited the state, 
but the Roman citizens, thinking it would interfere with their 
interests, rejected the proposal. The Senators, encouraged 
by this rejection, and taking advantage of the absence of 
Gracchus at Carthage, whither he had gone to found the new 
colony, did their utmost to further undermine, his influence 
and brought forward laws they had no intention of passing, 
merely to outbid him with the mob. 

When therefore Gracchus returned and stood a third time 
for the tribunate he was not elected, and as soon as he had 

39 



610 KOME 

121. laid down office the attack upon him began. The Senate pro- 
posed to cancel all that had been done concerning the colony 
at Carthage ; and when Gracchus opposed the motion, a riot 
ensued. Next day Opimius the consul came to the Senate 
surrounded by an armed force of the aristocracy and their de- 
pendants, and Gracchus with his adherents had to take refuge 
on the Aventine. In the struggle which ensued, the Gracchans 
were worsted, and though Gaius escaped he was found dead 
next day. After his death his supporters were hunted down 
without mercy — 3,000 of them being strangled in prison. 

Thus the aristocratic party again triumphed, and the 
democracy again betrayed their benefactor ; while as a climax 
upon folly and hypocrisy, Opimius, the consul, raised a new 
temple and dedicated it to Concord, as if Gracchus had been 
the chief disturbing element in the state. But wise men were 
not deceived, and in spite of prohibition the memory of the 
Gracchi was held in veneration in Rome. As for the legisla- 
tion which Gaius Gracchus had set on foot, the Senate left the 
bad laws untouched and repealed the good. With the doles of 
corn they did not interfere, nor with the farming of the taxes 
in the province of Asia ; but the colonising projects, which 
had in them so 'much of promise, were annulled, and the 
franchise was not extended to the Latins. Shortly after this 
a law was passed imposing a fixed rent on the possessors of 
public land ; but, somewhat later, another law abolished the 
rent, and made the land private property. Moreover, the 
holders of the lots which by the law of Tiberius Gracchus 
had been made inalienable were allowed to sell, so that the 
land fell back into the hands of capitalists and the evil results 
became as great as in former times. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE RISE OF MARIUS. 

The massacre of Gaius Gracchus and his followers left the 121. 
popular party without a leader, and the Senate resumed its 
old position — so far as was possible under the changed circum- 
stances of the time. It was no longer, however, the assembly 
that it had been during the wars. At that period it had, 
amongst many worthless members, a few great ones and these 
had been allowed to govern ; but now all were alike incapable. 
Aware of their own weakness, they showed themselves as 
eager to conciliate the Roman burgesses as Gracchus had 
been, so that bribery by doles of corn went on as before. As 
for the burgesses they became poorer than ever, until it was 
said that amongst the whole of them there were not two 
thousand well-to-do families. 

The incapacity of the Senate soon showed itself in the 
affairs of government both at home and abroad. Slave 
insurrections were frequent, and pirates abounded in the 
Mediterranean ; whilst in the provinces, officials, tax farmers 
and concessionaires systematically plundered the people. 
Serious trouble was inevitable, and the only question was 
from what quarter it would come. 

The first storm cloud broke upon the Romans in Africa. 

On the death of Massinissa, his three sons Micipsa, Gulussa 

and Mastanabal shared his possessions. The last two died 

and Micipsa reigned over all, leaving much power in the 

hands of Jugurtha, his nephew, a man of unusual capacity, 

and a worthy descendant of his redoubtable grandfather, 

Massinissa. Micipsa, before he died, divided his, realm be- 118. 

(611) 



612 ROME 

tween his two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and his 
nephew. Hiempsal was assassinated, and there was war 
between Adherbal and Jugurtha. Adherbal was worsted 
and fled to Rome to plead his case. Jugurtha, however, 
understood the Romans, and his representatives bribed 
the senators to decree a division of territory between the 
claimants entirely in his favour. But Jugurtha, coveted 
the whole, and, having besieged Adherbal in Cirta, in spite 

112. of Roman protest, he captured the city and slaughtered 
the inhabitants. Among these there were Italian merchants, 
so that the government could not overlook the offence. 
They accordingly declared war against Jugurtha, but when 
the army reached Africa he bribed the general to make 
peace on the basis of a nominal submission and fine. 
This being too barefaced, however, for the Roman people to 
tolerate, a motion was carried in the Senate demanding that 

ill. he should appear in Rome to answer complaints. Jugurtha 
came under a safe conduct, but used his gold so freely 
that nothing was done to him. It happeend that another 
grandson of Massinissa living in the city at this time, dared 
to put forward his claim to the kingdom, on which he was 
at once assassinated by Jugurtha's agents. This outrage in 
Rome itself could not be borne — the African was ordered 
away, and war renewed. 

110. The new campaign was conducted on the Roman side by 

Spurius Albinus, but he did nothing effectual, and when he 
returned to Rome for the elections, leaving the army in the 
care of his brother, the latter was routed and had to agree to 
terms of peace laid down by Jugurtha. 

The news of this disaster almost raised a revolution in 
Rome, the treaty of peace was cancelled, and a new general, 

109. Quintus Metellus, believed to be above suspicion, was sent 
to Africa. Amongst his officers was Gaius Marius, a man 
of humble origin but an excellent soldier. Jugurtha now saw 
that the Romans were in earnest, and gave battle to them at 
the river Muthul, but was severely defeated, and had to resort 



THE EISE OF MAEIUS 613 

to guerilla warfare, at which he was an adept. Although 
Metellus overran Numidia, he failed to capture the African 
king, or to inflict any great injury upon him. 

Whilst the war was thus dragging, Marius asked the per- 107. 
mission of Metellus to return to Rome to stand for the consul- 
ship ; and when he got there, he made so many adverse criticisms 
with regard to the progress of the war under Metellus, that 
the people superseded that general and appointed Marius 
in his place. Metellus, therefore, returned home, but for a time 
Marius did little better, and would have probably lost both 
army and life on one occasion but for the bravery of Sulla his 
cavalry officer. Next year Marius entered into negotiations 
with Bocchus, another African prince, whose daughter was 
married to Jugurtha, and bribed him to betray his ally and 
son-in-law. In these negotiations Sulla took a leading part, 
and they were successful. Jugurtha was betrayed, brought 
to Rome in triumph and, in accordance with Roman custom, 
was allowed to perish in prison. This African war, which 
lasted for twelve years, served to illustrate the unfitness of 
the Senate to guide the commonwealth. But for their in- 
capacity it would never have been begun, and but for their 
corruption it could have been speedily finished. Sulla got 
most of the credit for bringing the war to a conclusion ; and 
Marius, his superior officer, was sore displeased. 

The Roman territories now extended widely — in Italy to 
the Alps, in Spain to the Pyrenees, and in Macedonia to the 
Balkans. Beyond these ranges Europe was inhabited by war- 
like tribes, who from time to time raided territory, which if 
not actually Roman was at least under protection. Thus 
frontier wars arose, and various Roman generals, crossing the 
boundaries of the empire, subdued and weakened the adjacent 
tribes. But instead of the empire being strengthened thereby, 
a contrary effect was produced, for this weakening opened the 
way for yet more warlike tribes to move southward from the 
shores of the Baltic. At first they came slowly, but at last in 
great numbers, not so much the invasion of an army as the 



614 EOME 

movement of a people — one of those vast migrations which have 
so much affected the history of Europe. These tribes, the 
113. Cimbri and Teutones as they were called, fell in with a Roman 
109. army near the city of Noreia and defeated it ; and when, four 
years after, they met with Silanus in Southern Gaul they 
overcame him also. 
108. Scaurus was the next to suffer, and after him Longinus, who 

107. was entrapped in an ambush by the Helvetii and had most 
105. of his army destroyed. Two years after, two Roman armies, 
commanded by Csepio and Gnseus Maximus, faced the invaders 
in Gaul, but the generals quarrelled ; and, attacking in- 
cautiously, were utterly defeated — 80,000 Romans being slain. 
This was the battle of Arausio (Orange), the most serious 
disaster that had befallen the Romans since Cannae. Had 
the Cimbri at once advanced on Rome the city might have 
fallen, but they turned westward and fell upon the adjacent 
Gallic tribes, so that Rome had time to prepare herself for 
a fresh effort. 

The battle of Arausio was fought just at the time that 
Marius was returning to Rome from Africa ; and amid the 
storm of wrath which fell upon the Senate the popular party 
104. again elected Marius as consul, and entrusted him with the 
conduct of the war against the Cimbri. The consulship thus 
given was renewed five years in succession — a departure from 
precedent which had important results. 

Marius was an able soldier, popular with his men, and 
knowing well how to manage them. He had married into 
the great Julian family, but was of humble birth, illiterate, 
and detested the aristocracy. He carried out reforms in mili- 
tary affairs which changed the character of the army. It had, 
in fact, been changing ever since the days of Hannibal. Now 
that Rome had so many distant provinces it was impossible 
for citizens to fight and work alternately, and soldiering was 
becoming a trade. Marius accordingly substituted voluntary 
enlistment for the levy of the citizens. He went farther 
and democratised the army, opening it to all citizens without 



THE EISE OF MAEIUS 615 

regard to property, and promoting men according to merit — not 
according to rank or wealth. By these reforms the army was 
improved as a fighting machine, but severed from the civil 
authority, and brought more under the general's personal 
control. It now only needed that his appointment should be 
either permanent or continued for a number of years, to give 
a commander a power over the soldiery which might prove 
fatal to republican institutions. 

Marius entered Gaul, and as the invading tribes were busy 
elsewhere, he had time to organise his army and fortify his 
position. The Cimbri had been strongly reinforced by the 
Teutones and Helvetii, and they divided into two forces — the 
Teutones arranging to invade Italy by the coast road, whilst 
the others crossed the Alps farther eastward. Marius was 
strongly entrenched, and when the Teutones found they could 
not drive him from his position they rashly determined to 
pass him by. When after six days they had all marched 102. 
past, Marius struck his camp and followed, watching his 
opportunity. It came, near the town of Aquae Sextiae, now 
Aix, where after a severe struggle the Teutones were utterly 
cut to pieces. 

The danger was not yet wholly over, for the other body, 
consisting mostly of the Cimbri, had crossed the Alps and 
was in the Po Valley. Marius went first to Rome, and thence 101. 
hurried to the north to join Catulus, the proconsul, who was 
commanding there. Battle was given in the Raudine Plain, 
and the Cimbri were annihilated. 

Marius was now deservedly the hero of the hour. He had 
finished the war in Africa, had saved Italy from the bar- 
barians, and some thought he might perhaps reform the state. 
But though as a military specialist he was second to none, his 
ability ended there. He was a rough man, with the manners 
of the camp, a poor speaker, and without any statesmanship. 
The alarm caused by the threatened barbarian invasion had 
led to his being elected consul five times, and though this was 
contrary to custom, the re-election was justified by the circum- 



616 EOME 

stances of the case, but now that the subjugation of the Cimbri 
was accomplished, it would have been better for him had he 
laid down his consulship. It was the more desirable that he 
should retire, as the leaders of the popular party with whom 
his name must be associated, were not at this time estimable 
men, yet he allowed himself to be nominated as one of a 
100. coalition of three, and the election was carried — Marius being 
consul ; Saturninus, tribune ; and Glaucia, praetor. 

Saturninus at once brought forward measures of impor- 
tance. Lands were to be given to the soldiers who had fought 
for Marius in Gaul and in Africa ; colonies were, to be founded, 
and the Italian allies and Roman burgesses were to share alike. 
A clause was appended to the law compelling all Senators to 
swear to observe its provisions within five days or be exiled. 
This clause gave great offence, but the presence of the soldiers 
of Marius was an unanswerable argument, and all took the 
oath except Metellus, who preferred to suffer exile. During 
this year the popular party carried things in high-handed 
fashion, and Marius could neither agree with them nor keep 
them in check, so that he made enemies on both sides ; and, 
when the next elections came, Saturninus and Glaucia stood 
for the tribuneship and consulship without him. The sena- 
torial candidate for the latter office was Memmius, who was 
murdered before the election, whereupon the Senate called 
upon Marius to interfere. Marius complied, and the senators 
and their supporters armed and assembled in the Forum. 
Saturninus and Glaucia also flew to arms, and a battle was 
fought in the market-place, in which the adherents of the 
popular party were beaten. Marius tried to save the lives of 
Saturninus and Glaucia by imprisoning them in the Senate 
House, but the young Senators climbed upon the roof, broke 
it open, and stoned them to death with the tiles. Thus violence 
was met by violence, the Senate was victorious, and the laws 
which had been so recently passed were set aside. As for 
Marius, he had pleased neither party, and was favoured by 
none. Metellus was invited back, and, that he might not 



THE EISE OF MAEIUS 617 

witness the reception of his rival, Marius left Rome for a time. 
When he returned, he lived in seclusion, bitterly humiliated, 
but nursing his revenge. The same year which witnessed 
these stirring events witnessed the birth of Julius Csesar, the loo. 
nephew of Marius. 



CHAPTER XX. 

MISGOVERNMENT AND INJUSTICE. 

Whilst the events recorded in the last chapter were in pro- 
gress, there had been serious trouble amongst the Sicilian 
slaves. The Roman slave trade had assumed vast propor- 
tions. Most of the slaves came from Asia Minor, brought by 
pirates, slave merchants and speculators, who carried on their 
nefarious trade under the protection of the Roman flag. The 
king of Bithynia, when a contingent was demanded from him 
to help in a Roman war, declared that he could not send it 
because his people had been stolen from him by slave traders. 
There was a large market for Oriental slaves at Delos, where 
as many as 10,000 had been known to change hands in one 
day. Sicily was full of slaves from Asia Minor, who worked 
on the plantations, and were brutally treated. 

So long as the slave market was supplied from tribes which 
were hostile to Rome, there was not perhaps much to be said, 
but the traders were not particular where they got their 
victims, and persons belonging to nations in alliance with 
Rome, and even poor Sicilians were sometimes reduced to 
104. bondage. Complaints of this went to Rome, and Nerva, the 
governor of Sicily, held a court in Syracuse to investigate 
the matter. When many had appealed and hundreds were 
declared free, the planters became alarmed and persuaded 
Nerva to shut up the court and send the other applicants 
away. Nerva weakly did so ; but the men, instead of return- 
ing to their masters made for the mountains, and in a little 
while the island was in a flame. The slaves placed a king 

at their head called Tryphon, and were joined by another 

(618) 



MISGOVEENMENT AND INJUSTICE 619 

band under Athenio. Thus united, they gained many successes, 
and kept the Romans at bay for five years, until at length 99. 
Acjuillius defeated Athenio and killed him, upon which the 
rebellion came to an end. 

The ending of the slave war was fortunate for the Senate. 
Marius had been set aside, and the Senate was triumphant 
politically, and if only they could keep the country at peace, 
or succeed in such wars as they undertook, they might main- 
tain their position for a long time. Marius, on the other hand, 
did not desire peace, hoping that if an important war broke 
out his services would be required. There was for some time 97. 
no serious conflict in the provinces. The Spaniards rose, but 
the insurrection was easily quelled, and when Mithridates 
threatened aggression in Asia, Sulla, the governor of Cilicia, 
kept things quiet. At home also there seemed every prospect 
of peace. The violence of Saturninus and the feebleness of 
Marius had greatly discouraged the best men in the popular 
party, and those who had much to lose sided with the Senate. 
After the death of Saturninus there were frequent prosecutions, 
and many democrats fled from Rome. The laws of Saturninus 
were repealed and the colonies which he sought to establish 
abolished, so that everything seemed to augur favourably for 
Senatorial government. Nor did the first crisis which the 
Senate had to face arise from the democracy, but from the 
moneyed interest with which they were at present allied. 

It will be remembered that Gracchus, with the view of 
weakening the power of the aristocracy, had established a 
moneyed order called the equites, and had given them control 
of the jury courts, which had been up to that time a pre- 
rogative of the Senate. The equites, or commercial men, had 
used their power selfishly, especially in connection with the 
court which professed to try cases of provincial malfeasance 
but was now used to protect wickedness and extortion. So 
long as governors and officials allowed them to rob and mal- 
treat the natives of the provinces at their will, they were 
satisfied ; but if one more honourable than the rest dared to 



620 EOME 

challenge their action, he was threatened ; and if he persisted, 
then upon his retirement he was prosecuted on trumped-up 

92. charges before this court. A gross instance of this occurred 
in the case of P. Rutilius Rufus, who had been lieutenant to 
Q. Scaevola in Asia. Scsevola was a man of sterling honesty 
who vigorously repressed evil-doing in Asia during his 
governorship. He was ably seconded by Rutilius Rufus ; 
but no sooner had the latter retired than he was dragged 
before this court, condemned for maladministration and exiled 
— his property being confiscated. A more scandalous judgment 
could not have been passed. Rufus retired to Asia, was received 
with high honour, and spent the rest of his life there. Shortly 
after this another good man, Marcus Scaurus, was assailed, 
and it became evident that a court which had been estab- 
lished to check colonial extortion was being used in precisely 
the opposite way. Now although there were many in the Senate 
who were selfish, and many who were implicated in these very 
acts of injustice, yet there were good men who desired to see 
justice done to all, and some of these set about preparing 
schemes of reform. 

The evil connected with the jury courts was pressing, but 
there was an evil nearer home, which was more serious still — 
the treatment of the Italians by the Roman burgesses. There 
was a time when the Italians did not desire Roman citizenship, 
but that day had gone by, and now they demanded to know 
by what principle of justice they were compelled to bear 
the burdens, share the dangers, and win the victories of 
the state, whilst they were debarred from every privilege of 
citizenship. There was no denying the justice of their claim, 
and reformer after reformer had promised to see them righted, 
but this had never been done, and the Italians became more 
indignant every day at the burgesses who excluded them from 
purely selfish motives. 

91. At length Livius Drusus came forward as their champion 

— an aristocrat, but esteemed by all, and likely to obtain the 
help of all who were not blinded by their material interests. 



MISGOVEKNMENT AND INJUSTICE 621 

He brought forward a scheme of reform dealing with some of 
the evils of the day. He proposed that the jury courts should 
no longer be exclusively in the hands of the equites, but be 
controlled by Senate and equites conjointly ; that vacant 
arable land in Italy should be divided amongst the burgess 
colonists ; that the gifts of corn should be increased ; and that 
the franchise should be given to the Italians. Excepting the 
increase in the gifts of corn, the proposals were just, but they 
created intense opposition. The taking of the jury courts from 
the exclusive possession of the equites roused them to fierce 
resistance, and the distribution of the arable land amongst the 
poor was opposed by every wealthy landowner in the country. 
Drusus kept back the proposal to extend the franchise to the 
Italians until the other reforms had been dealt with, and 
they were carried, but afterwards cancelled on a technical 
objection. Crassus, the consul, who supported them, died 
suddenly, and shortly after Drusus himself was assassinated, 
and the reforms came to nought. The cause of progress seemed 
hopeless. When reformers tried to improve the state by at- 
tacking the Senate, they were murdered ; when Senators tried 
to improve the state by strengthening the Senate, they also 
were murdered. There seemed nothing for it but revolution, 
and the Italians, who looked upon Drusus as their champion, 
on hearing of his assassination, at once determined on civil 
war. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE ITALIAN REVOLT. 

The Italians desired reform not merely in order that they might 
obtain the franchise. The system of personal voting which 
prevailed at Rome made it unlikely that the franchise would 
be used by many of them even if they obtained it, but the want 
of the power to vote was one of the least of their evils. The 
Romans having had the superintendence of the administration 
and the making of law in their hands for so long a time had 
constantly improved the condition of the Roman burgess, but 
had left that of the Italians to deteriorate. In early days, for 
instance, Rome and Italy had received equal treatment in the 
matter of levy ; but now, when an army was called out, two 
Italians were summoned for one burgess. Again, the treatment 
of the soldiers was not equal. A Latin or Italian officer 
could be dealt with summarily by court martial, and executed 
on the spot ; whilst a Roman private had, in case of a capital 
sentence, his right of appeal, as a Roman citizen, to the Assembly. 
In civil matters also there was much ground for complaint. 
The Romans looked on all not actually burgesses as an inferior 
race, and the Latins and Italians were maltreated by the magis- 
trates and by the young nobles without redress. Yet they had 
been most faithful and deserved better treatment. They were 
Rome's best soldiers, had won her battles, had made her mistress 
of the world, and were treated like dogs. Nor did there seem 
126. much chance of improvement, when laws were passed expelling 
95. non-burgesses from Rome, and prohibiting non-citizens from 
even daring to claim the franchise. Every now and then some 

man, wiser than the rest, had tried to do them justice, but 

(622) 



THE ITALIAN EEVOLT 623 

their advocates were always ruined, and they saw that Rome 
would never yield their demands unless under compulsion. 
At the same time it was not easy for the Italians to coerce 
Rome. The Roman burgesses could act unitedly and at a 
moment's notice, whilst the Italians were scattered throughout 
the land, and had no rallying point except the city itself. 
Therefore, though more numerous than the burgesses and 
even better soldiers, they were not likely to be so effective 
in war. 

When Drusus came forward on their behalf, the hopes 
of the Italians rose high. He was a man of high position, 
a reformer, yet conservative in his ideas, and commanding the 
confidence of all classes. To their great delight he was at 
first successful, his early proposals were carried and they 
waited eagerly for the carrying of the last proposal which 
interested them more than all. But instead of further success 
there came news of delay, then of repeal, and then all Italy 
rang with the cry that their hero had been assassinated. 

There can be no doubt that for some time the Italians 
had been determining that if this effort at pacific reform 
failed, they would take up arms for their rights. Neverthe- 
less the rebellion broke out almost by accident, the citizens of 
Asculum being so insulted by the Roman magistrate that they 
killed him, and followed up their action by killing all the 
Romans in their city. The revolt thus begun quickly spread, 
and soon Central and Southern Italy were in a flame. The 
revolution was not general ; Etruria and Umbria held by Rome, 
as well as many towns even in the insurgent districts where 
the wealthy classes predominated. Generally speaking, the 
rich and their dependants were for Rome ; the middle classes, 
especially the farmers, for the insurrection. 

In Rome herself there was division, for some would have 
gladly yielded to the demands of the Italians, recognising 
them as just ; yet in the main the stubborn side of the Roman 
character came out, and men of every party put themselves at 
the service of the state — Marius and Sulla amongst the rest. 



624 EOME 

Both sides prepared resolutely for the struggle. The in- 
surgents chose Corfinium as their capital, changing its name 
to Italica, and framed a constitution for themselves which was 
a copy of that of Rome, having consuls, praetors, a Senate, and 

90. an Assembly. When the war broke out in earnest, the number 
of combatants was about 100,000 on either side, and in the 
matter of courage and generalship there was little to choose. 
The first year's campaign went in favour of the insurgents, and 
the Romans began to lay aside some of their arrogance and to 
think of compromise. Accordingly, in the autumn the lex 
Julia was passed, granting citizenship to such of the Italian 

89. states as were not in rebellion, and early next year a further 
measure offered citizenship to all who would within two 
months appear before a Roman magistrate and claim it. 
Though these concessions did not grant all that the Italians 
demanded, yet they were an acknowledgment that Rome was 
in the wrong, and they were enough of an approximation to 
justice to draw the teeth of the insurrection. Having gone so 
far, it seemed likely that Rome would ultimately go the whole 
length, and those who were not very hostile began to draw 
back. As a result the second year's campaign was much 
easier for the Romans, and but for the unquenchable deter- 
mination of the Samnites the war would soon have come to a 
close. By the end of the second campaign it had ceased to 
cause much anxiety in Rome, and the citizens could think of 
other matters. 

As it happened, there was quite enough to think about in 
Rome at this time. The position of the city was becoming most 
serious, and discontent pervaded every class. When the civil 
war broke out, those who favoured the granting of privileges 
to the Italians were prosecuted for treason and expelled from 
the city. Later, when it became clear that concessions must 
be made, the same court expelled the men who were against 
granting privileges, so that by two sets of prosecutions the 
best men in the city on both sides were banished. Again, 
though the war had been ended by the promise of enfranchise- 



THE ITALIAN EEVOLT 625 

ment to the Italians the Roman burgesses so qualified the 
privilege as to take back with one hand what they gave with 
the other, and this had created much ill-feeling. The treasury 
was exhausted, the people were miserably poor, and when 
Asellio, the prsetor, tried to give debtors relief by reviving 
obsolete laws against usury he was murdered. It did not 
improve financial matters that Mithridates, the king of 
Pontus, was overrunning Asia Minor ; and the capitalists 
there, who for years had been fattening upon the wretched 
provincials, were now threatened with the loss of their 
nefarious gains, whilst the Roman treasury was deprived of 
the tribute from her richest province. 

Worst of all for Rome, the spirit of patriotism was dying 
out. She had been cruel to all but the wealthy amongst 
her children, and the poor had lost affection for her, the 
Italians had no longer any regard for the republic, and the 
Romans only valued it for the free bread it gave. For a long 
time the government had been so detestable that it had lost the 
sympathy of all; and the soldiers, with the nonchalance of 
mercenaries, followed whatever general was most likely to lead 
them where they could find booty. 

In the third year of the social war, when the embers of it 88. 
were being stamped out, the consuls were Sulla and Pompeius 
Rufus, and Sulla was appointed to proceed to Asia to com- 
mand against Mithridates. Meanwhile Sulpicius Rufus, the 
tribune, proposed three laws known as the Leges Sulpiciee 
which raised much opposition, though they were not very 
revolutionary. He proposed to recall the men who had been 
exiled at the beginning of the Social War ; to make the con- 
cession of citizenship to the Italians a reality, and to expel 
from the Senate every member who was heavily in debt. The 
third proposal was aggravating in its nature and might better 
have been omitted, but the other two were wise and there 
was no need for the Senate and consuls to oppose them as 
bitterly as they did. Finding that he could not carry his pro- 
posals by fair means, Sulpicius used force ; and the consuls 

40 



626 ROME 

yielded, though with a bad grace. After this political defeat 
Sulla withdrew to his army in Campania, to prepare for his 
Asiatic campaign ; but Sulpicius, fearing the army might be 
used to overturn his laws, passed another act removing Sulla 
from the generalship and appointing Marius in his stead. 
This action of Sulpicius was extremely injudicious, and led to 
great mischief. 

When the news of his deposition reached Sulla he assembled 
his soldiers, told them what had happened and asked if they 
would stand by him. Most of them promised, only a few 
officers thinking that duty to the city should come before duty 
to the general. Accordingly he marched on Rome, and in a 
few hours was master of the city — Marius, Sulpicius and other 
leading opponents making their escape. The fugitives were 
proscribed ; Sulpicius was captured and executed ; but Marius, 
after extraordinary adventures, reached Africa, where he was 
joined by some of his followers. 

Sulla was now supreme, the Sulpician laws were abrogated, 
the Senate restored to all its privileges, and made stronger 
than ever by an enactment that no law could be proposed by 
a tribune until it had been sanctioned by the Senate. This 
reduced the Assembly of the people to a nullity, and meant 
oligarchy pure and simple. Nevertheless, anything would 
have been better for Rome than the existing chaos ; and, if 
Sulla had remained at the head of the state, things might have 
been brought into order by degrees, for he was a clear-headed 
man and would have made a firm ruler. But he was bent 
upon going to the east, where indeed the state of affairs was 
most threatening, for Mithridates was overrunning Asia Minor 
and had massacred 80,000 Romans and Italians. 

Sulla endeavoured to safeguard affairs in his absence in 
two ways : firstly, by putting a trusted officer, Quintus Rufus, 
in command of the army in the north; and, secondly, by 
nominating two friends as consuls for the ensuing year. 
But when Rufus went to take over command from Strabo, 
the general of the northern army, he was murdered, and. at 



THE ITALIAN EEVOLT 627 

the elections, Cinna, an avowed enemy of Sulla, was elected 
as one of the consuls along with Octavius, who was favour- 
able to Sulla. Things were not very promising, therefore, for 
the cause of peace ; but, after the massacre which had been 
perpetrated in Asia, Sulla could no longer delay, and having 
made the new consuls swear to maintain the constitution, he 
embarked his army and sailed for Greece — on his way to 
Asia. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION. 

87. The departure of Sulla for Asia at so critical a time was 
anything but comforting to the oligarchy. He had upset the 
former government ; he had not remained long enough to 
consolidate the new one ; and he had taught Rome for the 
first time the value of the sword in settling political disputes. 
Before Sulla's time there had been rioting and murder, but he 
was the first general who entered Rome at the head of a well- 
equipped army and cut the knot of political entanglement 
with his sword. When he left Rome, he left much discontent 
behind him. Nothing had been really settled — nobody was 
pleased. This disappointment had shown itself in the election 
of Cinna to the consulship, a man of moderate ability, but 
pledged to oppose Sulla. So long as Sulla remained in the 
country the peace was kept, but no sooner had he sailed for 
Greece than conflict began. Cinna, notwithstanding his oath 
to Sulla, revived the proposals of Sulpicius, and the new voters 
from the country, who were specially interested, flocked in 
numbers to the capital to help to pass them ; but Octavius, 
the other consul, who was Sulla's nominee, opposed them 
fiercely, and at the head of an armed force fell upon the 
unarmed countrymen and slew 10,000 of them. After this 
atrocity had been perpetrated Cinna was deposed from the 
consulship, and with six tribunes expelled from Rome. The 
exiles fled to the army which was lying at Nola in Campania 
and appealed to the soldiers, who eagerly espoused the cause 
of the people. Their numbers were quickly augmented by 

volunteers from the neighbouring Italian communities whose 

(628) 



THE DEMOCEATIG EEVOLUTION 629 

citizens had been so brutally massacred. The Sulpician 
exiles had been sent for, and landed in Etruria, and when it 
became known that Marius was amongst them, his old soldiers 
flocked from all sides, so that he joined Cinna with a large 
contingent and marched upon Rome. 

Meanwhile the Roman Senate had recalled Strabo with the 
army of the north, and he occupied Rome, but showed little 
zeal. He allowed the insurgents to invest the city, and con- 
tented himself with a passive attitude, waiting apparently for 
an opportunity to make such an arrangement as would be for 
his own benefit. During the investment, however, a pestilence 
broke out in the city, and 17,000 men perished, amongst whom 
was Strabo himself. 

Whilst the armies thus lay confronting one another, a 
strong Samnite detachment joined the army of Marius and 
Cinna. Many also deserted to their ranks, so that their 
forces grew, whilst those of the Senate continually decreased. 
Soon there was nothing left for the Senators but capitula- 
tion, and they submitted — making but one request : that 
there might be no bloodshed. To this Cinna and the rest 
assented, but Marius made no sign. Being legally an outlaw 
he refused to enter the city until the sentence against him had 
been revoked ; when this was done, he entered, and commanded 
that the gates should be shut. In spite of the efforts of Cinna 
and the other leaders he then ordered the death of every 
notable man in the aristocratic party, and for five days and five 
nights the slaughter went on. Gnaeus Octavius, the consul, was 
the first to be slain ; and after him victim upon victim, slaves 
mostly serving as executioners, and plundering the houses of 
the men whom they had killed. The terror which Marius 
inspired spread to his colleagues ; they dared not resist him, 
nor did the massacre cease until he was satiated. They 
even nominated him consul for the next year, and he was 
elected, thus becoming consul for the seventh time. This 
had been his highest ambition, but he had no joy in its 
fulfilment. In his early days he had done his country service, 



630 EOME 

and his name had been reverenced; now he had become an 
object of terror and loathing to every right-minded man. Nor 
86. did he long enjoy his triumph, for, less than a fortnight after 
the election, he died of fever. After his death, Sertorius, a 
leader in his own party, summoned the slaves who had carried 
out the orders of his chief to receive their wages, and when 
they assembled, to the number of 4,000, he slew them to a man. 
On the death of Marius, Flaccus was appointed consul 
along with^Cinna, but Cinna had the supreme power and kept 
it for three years, nominating himself annually as consul with 
a colleague, without going through the formality of election by 
the people. He did not carry out any measures of importance, 
nor did he attempt much in the way of consolidating the 
government. Nevertheless there was peace during his time, and 
most people hoped things would remain as they were, dreading 
the return of the oligarchy, lest it might usher in another reign 
of terror. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE MITHRIDATIC WAR. 

It is now necessary that we should follow the fortunes of 
Sulla after he left Italy to carry on war with Mithridates. 

Mithridates was king of Pontus, the state which lay on 
the southern shore of the Black Sea, west of Armenia. He 
claimed descent from Darius Hystaspis, and was strong, ener- 
getic, and brave ; but entirely unscrupulous in his character, 
with none of the generous qualities possessed by Hannibal and 
Pyrrhus. The states adjoining Pontus were weak, and Mith- 
ridates devoted himself to the extension of his dominions with 
so much success that at last his rule was acknowledged round 
the shores of the Black Sea as far as the river Dneiper and 
over most of Asia Minor. As his kingdom extended his 
warlike resources extended with it, until at last he was able 
to put 100,000 men into the field, and dominate the Black 
Sea with his fleet. 

The Romans had made a settlement in Asia, by which they 
purposed to prevent any one power from overshadowing the 
others, and they heard with alarm of the rapid growth of the 
kingdom of Pontus. They did not care, however, to embroil 
themselves in war so far from home ; and merely sent Sulla, then 
governor of Cilicia, to remonstrate with Mithridates for aggres- 
sions in Cappadocia. Mithridates listened to Sulla and with- 92. 
drew his forces, but no sooner was Sulla's back turned than the 
aggressions began again. This was the period of the Social 
War, and Rome had enough to think about at home ; but two 90. 
years later Manlius Aquillius, a Roman commissioner, inter- 
fered, and Mithridates again yielded. Aquillius was, however, 

(631) 



632 EOME 

determined on war for the sake of the plunder he expected 
to secure ; and, notwithstanding the unwillingness both of the 
Senate and Mithridates, he used Nicomedes king of Bithy- 
nia as a tool, and so arranged matters that war broke out. 

When Mithridates saw that war with Rome was inevitable, 
he prepared for it on a grand scale — taking the field with 
300,000 men. This was the moment when Sulla was marching 
upon Rome ; and Mithridates, having no formidable opponent, 
easily overran Asia Minor. Many of the cities hailed him as a 
deliverer from the Roman yoke, and either slew the garrisons 
within their walls or delivered them to the king in chains. 
Amongst the rest Aquillius was delivered up, and this man, the 
wicked cause of the war, was killed by having molten gold 
poured down his throat. Well would it have been had Mithri- 
dates stopped here ; but, pride blinding his reason, he savagely 
ordered every Roman and Italian in Asia Minor to be massacred, 
and 80,000 were thus slain. This was mere senseless brutality, 
for a considerable number of the Italians were not Romans at 
all, and had just been at war with Rome, so that they might 
have become valuable allies. 

The army of Mithridates now overran Asia Minor, and his 
fleet dominated the iEgean. Not content with this, he deter- 
mined to carry the war into Europe ; and hoping to stir up the 
Greeks to rebellion, he sent his son with an army by way of 
Thrace and Macedonia, and at the same time occupied the 
iEgean with his fleet. The Greeks were willing enough to 
rebel against Rome, and soon most of the islands and a great 
part of the mainland came over to his side. 

The Romans, on the other hand, were badly situated. The 
Social War was scarcely over, there was a revolution in the city 
itself, there was no fleet on the sea, no money in the treasury. 
For the work in which she was engaged Rome needed many 
armies ; she had but few, and these little to be depended on. 
What Sulla would do was a question of high importance, and 
he had doubtless great difficulty in settling whether to go to 
Asia or remain in Europe, but he at last decided for Asia; 



THE MITHEIDATIC WAE 633 

and, crossing the Adriatic, landed in Epirus with 30,000 men. 87. 
Rome was badly off when she had to send out so important 
an expedition with neither fleet nor money, but Sulla made 
up for all deficiences by his energy and generalship. A few 
early Roman successes induced most of the Greek cities to 
desert Mithridates, but Athens held out and had to be captured 
by siege. In order to get money Sulla robbed the temples, 
and he sent his officer Lucullus to Egypt and the maritime 
towns to try to raise a fleet. Egypt refused to help, but the 
maritime towns finding Mithridatic tyranny worse than 
Roman, helped Lucullus to gather a few ships together. 

Sulla's personal position was as unsatisfactory as it could 
be. By this time he had heard of the revolution at Rome, of 
the massacres, of his own outlawry and supersession, and that 
another general with another army had been sent to take over 
command of the war and fight him if need be. Under these 
circumstances Mithridates should have left Sulla alone ; for, 
whilst the Mithridatic fleet held the Mgeam, Sulla could not 
cross to Asia, and marching round was a task beyond his 
powers. But Mithridates determined to crush his enemy, and 
ordered his son Archelaus to attack him in Greece. Accordingly 
a battle was fought at Chseronea ; and, though the Asiatics 86. 
were thrice as numerous as the Romans, discipline and valour 
prevailed, and the troops of Mithridates were completely 
routed. Even yet the king had not learned his lesson ; and, 
when another army had been collected, he again ordered that 
Sulla should be attacked. This time the battle was fought at 
Orchomenus, and the result was more decisive than before — the 85. 
Pontic army being almost annihilated. By these acts of folly 
Mithridates raised Sulla's prestige to an extraordinary height, 
left the way to Asia open, and so weakened his own resources 
that Asia Minor fell from him on every side. Moreover the 
new circumstances made the raising of a fleet an easy matter, 
and Lucullus was soon strong enough to win engagements and 
to command the sea. 

Mithridates now sued for peace, and it was at last arranged — 



634 EOME 

the king undertaking to restore all conquests, to surrender his 
ships, and to pay a heavy indemnity. When the negotiations 
for peace began, Sulla was still in Europe at Delium ; but 
as Mithridates was slow in accepting the terms offered, he 
advanced towards Asia with his army, crossed the Hellespont 

84. and was at Dardanus when the peace was concluded. Two 
years before, another Roman army had been sent against 
Mithridates under command of Flaccus, the intention being to 
supersede Sulla. Flaccus crossed to Greece and lay opposite 
Sulla for a short time, but finding that his men were deserting 
he marched northwards through Macedonia and Thrace to Asia. 

85. After the army reached Asia there was a mutiny, and Flaccus 
being killed was succeeded by Fimbria. As soon as Sulla had 
finished his negotiations with Mithridates he turned upon 
Fimbria ; but, when he drew near, the troops in Fimbria's army 

84. began to desert, and the general seeing how things were going 
killed himself. His army then surrendered, and Sulla, not feel- 
ing entire confidence in the men, left them under the command 
of Lucius Licinius Murena to settle affairs in Asia ; whilst, 
with his own tried troops, he turned his face homeward 
towards Italy. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE OVERTHROW OF THE DEMOCRACY. 

Sulla was aware of all that had taken place in Italy during 
his absence, but, regardless of the revolution, had gone on and 
finished his work. Now that it was done he sent a letter to 84. 
the Senate reporting the end of the war and announcing his 
return to Italy as imminent. Although this letter stated that he 
would not interfere with the rights of citizenship which had 
been granted, and would not punish any but the leaders of the 
revolution, great alarm was created in Rome, and preparations 
were at once made for serious resistance. Cinna determined to 
cross to Greece, and an army was collecting at Ancona for that 
purpose, when there was a mutiny and Cinna was killed, after 
which his colleagues gave up the idea. Vigorous preparations 
were, however, made for opposing Sulla as soon as he landed, 
and 100,000 troops were levied. 

Sulla landed at Brindisi with about 40,000 men, and issued 83. 
a proclamation which did much to break down opposition. 
The Italians feared that a change of government would imperil 
the rights of citizenship which they had obtained after so long 
a struggle, so he bound himself to maintain all their privi- 
leges. This wise proclamation deprived the opposition of its 
chief supporters, and Brindisi and other towns in the south 
opened their gates to Sulla without further question, for if 
their privileges were secured, it was a matter of indifference 
to them which party ruled at Rome. 

Sulla's forces were small for the work which he had to 

do, but the members of the aristocratic party gathered round 

him, and Gnseus Pompeius, better known as Pompey, brought 

(635) 



636 EOMB 

a substantial accession of strength to his standard. Sulla was 
now in a position to advance and offer battle, and at Capua he 
overthrew the army of Norbanus, one of the consuls. Shortly 
after at Teanum he met the other consul, Scipio, with his 
forces, and during negotiation for an armistice Scipio's soldiers 
went over to Sulla in such numbers that he was left with- 
out an army. 
82. The consuls for the next year were Carbo and Marius, an 

adopted son of the general. Carbo went to Etruria, whilst 
Marius protected Rome. Marius was quickly defeated by Sulla 
and had to retreat, throwing himself into Prseneste. Before 
Rome was evacuated, however, he had shown what spirit he 
was of, by issuing an order that various leaders of the opposite 
party should be slain. 

Sulla reached Rome without further opposition; but, instead 
of entering it, sent a portion of his army to blockade Praeneste, 
whilst with the rest he set out for Etruria to seek Carbo. At 
this juncture the Samnites again took the field, and marched 
to relieve Prseneste, so that Sulla was forced to leave Etruria, 
and take up a position in which he could check their advance. 

Meanwhile, his general, Metellus, had been successful in 
subjugating the country north of the Apennines and was 
making ready to attack Carbo ; but the consul, seeing the hope- 
lessness of the struggle, fled to Africa, while his troops dispersed, 
so that Metellus was free to join hands with his general. 

The Samnites, hearing what had happened, did not wait for 
the junction of their enemies at Preeneste, but determined to 
march on Rome itself. They got there first, but Sulla had 
found out their plan and by a forced march reached the city 
before any harm was done. A fierce battle was fought, and 
it seemed as if Sulla would be beaten, but in the end he was 
victorious, and the Samnites were annihilated. 

After this Prseneste surrendered, the younger Marius com- 
mitted suicide, and Sulla overran Samnium and wasted it 
without mercy. Some of the towns of Etruria still held out, 
especially Volaterrse which stood a three years' siege. At last 



THE OVEETHEOW OF THE DEMOCEACY 637 

its garrison capitulated on condition that their lives should be 
spared, but when they issued forth they were massacred. 

Various provinces still remained in the hands of the 81. 
representatives of the democracy, but Sicily and Africa yielded 
quickly to Pompey ; while Sertorius, the governor of Spain, 
feeling himself too weak to oppose the armies sent against 
him, retired to Africa for a time. 

Whilst matters were thus drawing to a conclusion in the 
west, Murena had not found the settlement of the east an 
easy matter. He had acted injudiciously, crossing the Pontic 83. 
frontier in spite of the protests of Mithridates, and the remon- 
strances of envoys whom Sulla had sent to dissuade him. 
Mithridates had therefore no resource but to take up arms 
to defend himself, and Murena was driven back with great 82 - 
loss, but Sulla declined to be dragged into an Asiatic war and 
ordered him to make peace. 

Thus, once more, both at home and abroad, Rome was at 
peace, and it remained to be seen whether the man who was now 
at the head of affairs would be able to settle the constitution 
upon a basis that would give permanent satisfaction. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE DICTATORSHIP OF SULLA. 

82. Sulla's supremacy was now fully recognised ; and, in order 

that his acts might have the sanction of legal authority, he 

was created dictator, with absolute power of life and death 

over the citizens, the right to adjudicate upon all matters 

without appeal, and ratification of all he had done in the 

past. He had therefore a clear field, and had he been a true 

patriot, had he risen above party, endeavoured to arrange the 

constitution with a regard to the best interests of the people, 

and shown a forgiving spirit, so that Roman politics might 

have been divorced from their unholy alliance with confiscation 

and massacre, he might have been a real blessing to the 

state. 

Unfortunately Sulla did not stand the test. The promises 

made in his letters to the Senate to spare all except the leaders 

in the Marian revolution were at once broken, a long list was 

made out of those whom he doomed to death, and the massacre 

began. It was the first instance of proscription in Roman 

history, and there was a deliberate fiendishness about the 

method, making it even worse than the Marian massacres, 

which had been the wild revenge of a madman, horrible at 

the time, but soon over. The Sullan massacres lasted for 

months, those whose names were put in the lists were outlawed, 

any one might kill them, even their slaves ; their goods were 

confiscated and sold by auction at absurdly low prices to 

Sulla's supporters ; and their children and grandchildren were 

disfranchised and debarred from state service. The murderer of 

a proscribed person was rewarded, and any one who dared to 

(638) 



THE DICTATOESHIP OF SULLA 639 

shelter the proscribed shared their fate. None were safe, for the 
lists were constantly increased, names were inserted to please 
Sulla's friends, and in the number many supporters of the 
oligarchy fell, because their estates were coveted by those 
who had the ear of the dictator. The executions were not 
confined to Rome, but were general throughout Italy, and bands 
of soldiers went about profiting by the reward of murder. Of 
course the supporters of Marius were the chief victims, but 
many only indirectly implicated in the revolution suffered also, 
such as the professional accusers and those who had dared to 
buy confiscated property. In this way 4,700 leading men were 
slain and their estates forfeited. The amount of the confis- 
cation is shown by the fact that, although property often went 
for the merest fraction of its value, more than £3,000,000 
sterling was paid into the treasury by the purchasers. Many 
of these were freedmen, and an advocate asked in court if 
the only purpose for which the nobility of Rome went to war 
was to enrich freedmen and slaves. 

When he had murdered his enemies, Sulla turned his 
attention towards affairs of state, and began to set the con- 
stitution in order. Here, again, he had a chance to show true 
statesmanship. Naturally enough his mind was bent towards 
oligarchic institutions, and, surrounded as he was by a triumph- 
ant aristocracy, it was to be expected that he should favour 
these somewhat in his legislative proposals. Nevertheless, as 
a far-seeing man he should have realised that the barefaced 
restoration of the oligarchy would inevitably bring about a 
reaction, that the opposition would have its turn, and that a 
recurrence of party triumphs of the sort to which Rome was 
now accustomed must ruin the city in the end. Sulla had 
promised to respect the claim of the Italians to citizenship, and 
so far as letting them remain on a par with Roman burgesses 
was concerned, he kept his word, but as he took from the 
burgesses all their privileges, the concession to the Italians 
was of little value. The whole tendency of his measures was 
to depress the officers and Assembly of the people, and to 



640 EOME 

restore the Senate to its former supremacy. The tribunes of 
the plebs were deprived of all real power, they had no longer 
the right to initiate legislation, nor could they aspire to any 
other office of state. The control of the jury courts, which had 
been in the hands of the equites since the days of Gracchus, 
was now restored to the Senate. 

Sulla carried out reforms in the judicial and executive 
machinery which were of permanent value, laying the founda- 
tion of Roman criminal law by the establishment of courts for 
the trial of murder, bribery, forgery and the like. 

The initiative of the Senate in all legislation being now 
secured by solemn enactment, and the law courts being 
packed with senators, the Roman constitution was brought 
back to the point from which it had started centuries before, 
when the people were excluded from all participation in 
administrative affairs. Yet Sulla could not completely revive 
the past, for he could not transform a worthless and effete 
party into the patricians of olden times, of whom with all their 
faults the people had been proud. This was the weak point 
of his constitution. He had bolstered up an oligarchy which he 
knew to be incapable of governing the country as it should be 
governed, and he must have realised in his heart that his 
reorganisation of the commonwealth could not endure. 

Nor was this the only injury that Sulla had done 
to the state. By his first march upon the city he taught the 
Romans how to use an army for political purposes, and he 
had improved upon this first lesson by a second of a yet more 
thorough character. The whole military system of Rome 
had changed immeasurably for the worse. In former times 
the burgesses had fought for their country, but burgess levies 
were now things of the past, and mercenaries fought for the 
general who could best promise to satiate them with victory 
and plunder. Twice had Sulla shown how a devoted army 
could make its general master of Rome ; and the lesson was 
not forgotten. Even whilst he was dictator, there was insub- 
ordination amongst the soldiers, for the men who had replaced 



THE DICTATORSHIP OF SULLA 641 

the Senators in power did not care to recognise them as 
masters ; but Sulla checked this spirit, and even ordered 
that Ofella, one of his generals, should be killed because he 
endeavoured to obtain the consulship in an illegal way. 

From an economic point of view Sulla did much mischief. 
Italy had been growing tranquil under the government of 
Cinna ; and, had Sulla refrained from meddling, all would 
have been well. But he ordered commissions to proceed 
throughout Italy to inquire into the action of each community 
during the revolution, and to reward or chastise as the case 
might be. Many cities were punished by the confiscation 
of their territories, the occupiers were ejected, and the lands 
divided amongst his soldiers. Had these men understood 
farming and been content to remain and till the land, 
the change would have been of less consequence, but they 
were unused to country life, and soon tired of it, drifting 
towards Rome, and swelling the ranks of the unemployed. 
Much of Italy thus became waste, Samnium and Lucania 
were desolate, Etruria had been treated with much harshness, 
discontent reigned everywhere, and the men who had been 
dispossessed took to the mountains and lived by brigandage. 
Sulla was undoubtedly a man of ability, and might have 
immortalised his name, but he flung the chance away, and 
became a curse instead of a blessing to his country. 

After holding the dictatorship for a year or two, he 79. 
resigned, and retired to Puteoli where he shortly afterwards 
died. 

Sulla is a man from whom we must withhold admira- 
tion, except on the score of military capacity. He was an 
excellent soldier, never losing an important battle, and scarcely 
ever having to retreat. But this is all that can be said in his 
favour, for he was sensual, unscrupulous, and brutal, placing 
party above country and throwing away the opportunity which 
fortune afforded him of saving the state. It would have 
been better for Rome had Sulla died in Asia, for though the 
government over which Cinna presided was imperfect, yet it 

41 



642 EOME 

had elements of permanence which were lacking in the 
government erected by Sulla. This was the greater pity, 
as Rome stood sorely in need of reform ; for, though the 
world might think her powerful, her condition socially, 
economically, and politically was as bad as it could well be. 

The greatest evil which Rome had now to face arose from 
slavery. There had always been slaves, but in early times these 
were only a tithe of the people ; now there were more slaves 
than freemen. The consequence was that most of the work, 
both in the city and country, was done by slaves. One of the 
finest pieces of work ever done by Rome was the Marcian Aque- 
duct. It took three years in building, it cost £2,000,000 sterling, 
3,000 contractors were engaged, and every one of them did his 
work by bands of slaves. Thus there were in Italy three 
classes : the rich who owned all the land and tilled it by slaves, 
or contracted for public works and executed them by slave 
labour ; the slaves themselves, captured in war or piracy, often 
as good as their masters, very numerous, and only waiting a 
chance to rise in rebellion ; and the populace, a mass of free- 
men for whom there was no real place in Roman society, but 
who, lest they might become mutinous and turn upon the rich, 
had to be amused and fed. 

In a society thus constituted it was to be expected that 
there would be much sensual indulgence. The wealthy drank 
hard, and wasted their substance in debauchery. The poor 
demanded games, no longer of the primitive sort where they 
were content to watch races fairly run, but horrible and blood- 
thirsty scenes where men fought with wild beasts and with 
one another to the death. Slavery also brought with it its 
twin sister — immorality. Marriage was held of little account, 
and divorce was of daily occurrence. 

The Roman finances were also in an unhappy condition. 
Rome was never a very rich state, but during the Hannibalic 
wars there had been such financial providence that the war lasted 
for ten years before the government fell back upon the reserve 
fund ; whilst in the social war, now just finished, the reserve 



THE DICTATOESHIP OF SULLA 643 

fund was exhausted at once, and the government had to raise 
money by the sale of public land. It was to the credit of the 
Eoman administration that it did not demand heavy taxes or 
tribute for state purposes ; but so far as the subject communities 
were concerned the actual tax or tribute remitted to Rome 
was but a tithe of what they had to pay. The governors, 
generals, magistrates and publicani who went to the provinces 
went to make their fortunes, and made them no matter at 
what cost to their victims. Instances are recorded where the 
unfortunate communities had to sell their works of art, their 
public buildings, and their very children, in order to meet the 
claims of the Roman tax farmer. Little wonder if the name 
of " publican " was synonymous with the worst kind of op- 
pression and robbery amongst the peoples of the east. 

Whilst this was the condition of the Roman empire socially 
and economically, Sulla had so ordered it that politically it was 
as badly off as in its darkest days. The early strivings towards 
representative government seemed to have been in vain, the 
burgesses had lost all share in the commonwealth, and their 
magistrates were without independence. Nor did there seem 
any hope in the future, for " the sun of freedom was setting " in 
Rome. There was no longer any chance of making a successful 
struggle against despotism, and the only question remaining to 
be solved was what form the despotism was destined to take. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE OLIGARCHY ON ITS TRIAL. 

The constitution as arranged by Sulla was not likely to last 
long, but its duration depended on the capacity of the Senate 
to govern. During the earlier period, when for a century 
Rome had been engaged in foreign war, power had fallen into 
the hands of the Senate, and had been so well used that all 
had acquiesced. If the Senators had now shown themselves 
worthy of the responsibility which Sulla had laid upon them, 
that large class of the community which cared less for the form 
of a government than for a peaceable life would have rallied 
to their support. 

But the Senate did not make out any claim to the con- 
fidence of the people. So long as Sulla himself was at the head 
of affairs things went smoothly, and malcontents were silent ; 
but after his death the Senate showed painful incapacity 
both at home and abroad, and there was much disaffection. 
Many looked askance upon Sulla's changes, besides the ad- 
herents of the democratic party. Some Senators had liberal 
ideas ; and men with legal minds had been shocked by Sulla's 
arbitrary proceedings, certain jurists having gone so far as 
to disregard his laws even whilst he lived. The capitalists 
had been made bitterly hostile by his interference with their 
tax farming, their rights in the jury courts, and the loss of 
various subordinate privileges which they prized. The position 
of the freedmen congregated in the capital had been lowered by 
Sulla, and the populace had been deprived of their cheap 
corn. Many of the best men had been proscribed and dispos- 
sessed, and though they had been got out of the way their 

(644) 



THE OLIGAECHY ON ITS TEIAL 645 

friends remained to work for their recall or to watch for a 
chance to avenge their memory. Moreover, the number who 
had really benefited by his measures was small. Many of his 
soldiers had got lands in various parts of Italy, and for the 
moment they were contented, but they soon tired of agri- 
cultural life and drifted back to the capital where they became 
as dissatisfied as the rest. 

Consequently Sulla was scarcely buried before preparations 78. 
began for a new revolution. The consuls for the year were 
Lepidus and Catulus. Lepidus had belonged to the aristo- 
cratic party, but having been appointed governor of Sicily he 
had plundered there so freely that he had been threatened 
with impeachment, in order to avoid which he joined the demo- 
cratic party. He was a man of no character, and a doubtful 
acquisition, but he pushed himself to the front, becoming one 
of the leaders. On the death of Sulla many of the exiles 
returned, amongst whom was Julius Caesar. He was only 
twenty-two years of age, yet had narrowly escaped proscrip- 
tion under Sulla. Marius had married his aunt, and he himself 
had married a daughter of Cinna, and when Sulla requested 
him to divorce his young wife he refused, preferring to leave 
Italy. In this he had acted more nobly than Pompey who had 
done Sulla's bidding, and it was only the earnest intercession 
of Caesar's relatives that saved him from condign punishment. 
Sulla passed his defiance over because of his youth, but warned 
his friends that that " boy in the petticoat " would turn out 
another Marius. When Caesar returned he was inclined to 
join the revolutionary movement, but when he looked into 
things and saw what manner of man Lepidus was, he 
abstained. 

The revolution broke out first in Etruria, and the Senate 
rashly commissioned both consuls to raise armies to quell it. 
Catulus was faithful, but Lepidus, as might have been ex- 
pected, declared for the revolution, and advanced upon the 
capital. He was, however, defeated, and afterwards so 
pressed by Pompey that he escaped to Sardinia where he 



646 EOME 

died — the remnant of his army, under Perpenna, joining 

77. Sertorius in Spain. 

The opposition to Senatorial government in Italy had 
collapsed, but in Spain it was assuming formidable proportions. 
Sertorius had been sent there as governor before the over- 

81. throw of the democratic government, and when it was 
superseded and Sulla's generals arrived, he retired to Africa, 
He was popular with the Spaniards, and when the Lusitanians, 

80. a year after, resolved to rise against Rome, they asked him to 
become their leader. Sertorius consented, and, being joined by 
many exiles, organised the Lusitanians so well that he defeated 
the Roman generals who were sent against him. He was greatly 
esteemed by the Spaniards and ruled that part of Spain 
which was under his sway with great wisdom, founding 
schools, reducing the tribute, and keeping his soldiers so well 
in hand that the peaceful inhabitants were never injured by 
them. At last the whole of the Spanish province, except where 
the Roman troops were, was ruled by Sertorius; he had 
emissaries in Gaul, and his ships commanded the Western 
Mediterranean. 

77. As the war dragged in Spain, Pompey demanded to be 

sent there as general ; and though this could only be done by 
violating Sulla's rule that men must not be sent abroad as 
proconsuls with military power until they had been for a year 
in civil office in Italy, the Senate, having no one else of equal 
military capacity, gave him the appointment. For a time he 
achieved little, but when the war had lingered for eight years 
the Spaniards tired of it, and the emigrants who were with. 

72. Sertorius, and who had always been hard to manage, conspired 
and murdered him as he sat at table. Perpenna succeeded 
him but was soon defeated and captured, and the Spanish war 
came to an end. 

Meanwhile there had been another slave war in Italy, where 
slavery had become an unmitigated curse. The country was 
filled with inflammable material, armed bands roamed about, 
freemen were abducted, estates were stolen by one owner from 



THE OLIGAECHY ON ITS TEIAL 647 

another, and outrages were of daily occurrence. Amongst the 
slaves some had been set aside as gladiators, and trained in 
special schools until the time came for their horrible perform- 
ances. From the Capuan school a number of gladiators escaped 73 - 
under Spartacus, a Thracian of noble birth, and Crixus a Celt. 
The fugitives took refuge on Vesuvius, and increased until 
they numbered more than 40,000 men. They broke into two 72. 
bands, and Crixus was defeated and killed, but Spartacus over- 
came every opponent. He tried hard to restrain his followers, 
and wished them to cross the Alps and return to their homes, but 
he could not persuade them to submit to discipline or carry on 
war in a systematic way, and at last he was defeated by Crassus 
and driven into Bruttium. Thence he again emerged, and 
had some slight success ; but he was at length overthrown 71. 
in Apulia, and died like a hero. Just at the time when 
Spartacus was killed, Pompey arrived from Spain with his 
legions and united with Crassus in a merciless man hunt, in 
connection with which 6,000 slaves were crucified on the road 
between Capua and Rome. 

About this time piracy was giving great trouble on the 
Mediterranean. For a long time Rome had grossly neglected 
her duty as guardian of the seas. She had crushed the 
other maritime powers and destroyed their fleets, yet would 
not herself keep up a fleet for the protection of trade. 
Consequently the Mediterranean swarmed with pirates, and 
commerce had become almost impossible. For much of the 
piracy indeed, her policy had been directly responsible. She 
had broken up many communities, had deprived tens of thou- 
sands of the means of livelihood, and had driven the adherents 
of vanquished causes from Italy. It was not wonderful then if 
desperate men formed themselves into new organisations and 
lived as best they could, preying upon wealth wherever they 
could find it. The head-quarters of the pirates were in Cilicia 
and Crete, but they had posts all round the Mediterranean and 
from Asia to Spain no merchantman was safe from their swift 
vessels. They were united in a confederacy, made treaties with 



648 EOME 

maritime cities, had their admirals, sailed in squadrons, and 
did not hesitate to land and attack coast towns. They fought 
against Sulla, aided Mithridates, and in alliance with Sertorius 
swept the Western Mediterranean. 

Sulla realised the dangers involved in the growth of 
piracy, and instructed the governors in Asia to equip a fleet 
against the pirates, but his commands were not obeyed. 

78. The Senate sent Publius Servilius to Cilicia, who defeated 
the pirate fleet and broke up some of their strongholds, but 
this only drove them to other regions, especially to Crete. 

74. Some years later Marcus Antonius received extraordinary 

powers to deal with the evil ; but, after squandering much 

71. treasure, he was beaten off Cydonia, and died at Crete. The 
ill success of this expedition so disgusted the Senate that they 
refrained for a time from further effort ; and the pirates, left 
victorious, became more audacious than ever. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE SECOND MITHRIDATIC WAR. 

The most serious reverse which the oligarchy sustained was 
in connection with the second Mithridatic war. Since Sulla 84. 
had conquered Mithridates that king had been extremely 
careful not to offend the Romans, and had contented himself 
with such extension of territory as had not been forbidden to 
him by treaty. He had, however, reorganised his army and 
his fleet, and in this work had been helped by Roman exiles 
who had taken refuge at his court. He was, therefore, in a 
stronger position than formerly ; but he had a wholesome 
dread of the Roman arm, and did not care to come again with- 
in its reach. The Romans were not anxious to meddle in the 
east if they could help it, but they had not been satisfied with 
the terms given by Sulla to the king, and had never formally 
accepted them, so that Mithridates feared they would break 
the peace when it suited their convenience. 

On the other hand, if there was to be war, Mithridates was 
never likely to have a better chance than now, when Sertorius 
was fighting so valiantly in Spain against Rome, and when 
the city was divided against itself. There were many exiles 
at his court, and as they pressed him to take advantage of the 
opportunity he at last declared war. 

At this time Tigranes, Mithridates' son-in-law, was king 

in Armenia, and had been pushing conquest on every side. 

He had founded a new capital, Tigranocerta, and copied the 

style of the Oriental monarchs of an earlier period. When 

Mithridates declared war against Rome, he asked Tigranes 

to help him, but he refused — foreseeing the defeat of his 

father-in-law, and meaning to profit by it if possible. 

(649) 



650 EOME 

74. Mithridates tried to win Western Asia back before the 

Roman army could arrive, and was at first successful, many 
of the cities submitting to him. The Romans had appointed 
Lucullus to the army and Cotta to the fleet, and as the former 
was delayed, Mithridates blockaded Cotta in Chalcedon and 
destroyed the fleet. Pending the arrival of the army a few 
energetic men volunteered against the king, amongst whom 
was Julius Caesar, then resident in Rhodes. 

73. When Lucullus arrived, Mithridates should have retreated 

to the interior, but instead he foolishly embarrassed himself by 
besieging Cyzicus. A splendid defence was made, and, Lucullus 
coming to the rescue, the Asiatic army, 300,000 strong, was 
blockaded. They suffered so much from sickness and famine 
that they lost 200,000 men without fighting a pitched battle ; 
and, but that the Romans were without a fleet, the army would 
have been annihilated. 

72. Mithridates now retired into Pontus, but Lucullus follow- 

ing again defeated him at Cabira, whereupon he fled to 
Armenia, taking refuge with Tigranes, his son-in-law. Lu- 
cullus had been completely successful, and had done all he set 
out to do ; it only remained for him now to pause and organise 
the territories he had won. 

But having conquered Mithridates so easily, Lucullus de- 
termined to try conclusions with Tigranes. This was likely 
to be a harder task, for the army with Lucullus was small, and 
his soldiers, some of whom were Fimbria's men and had been 
under arms for sixteen years, were on the point of mutiny. 
He must have suspected, moreover, that the Senate would 
not favour so hazardous an enterprise as that which he 
contemplated. 

Notwithstanding all difficulties, however, Lucullus invaded 
Armenia, and in his first battle overthrew the huge army 

69. of Tigranes and captured Tigranocerta. But though thus 
successful his position was far from secure. Persuaded by 
his father-in-law, Tigranes persevered in the war and the 
Asiatics flocked to his standard. The Senate also, objected 



THE SECOND MITHRIDATIC WAE 651 

strongly when they heard what Lucullus had done and were 
not mollified by success, whilst the soldiers, having now as 
much booty as they could carry, were eager to return. Accord- 
ingly when he still advanced into Armenia, and pressed 
towards Artaxata, the capital, his soldiers mutinied and com- 
pelled him to retreat. He had therefore to evacuate Armenia, 
and the forces which he had left behind in Pontus being 
defeated, he was in great straits. Just at this moment, 67. 
moreover, news arrived that he had been superseded and 
that Fimbria's soldiers had been granted their dismissal, so 
that his army dispersed and Mithridates and Tigranes re- 
covered all that they had lost. Lucullus had shown himself a 
brilliant general, and had accomplished great things, but his 
forces were too small for his ambitious projects. By grasping 
at too much he lost all, eight years of toil and bloodshed being 
apparently thrown away. 

Ten years had passed since Sulla's death and senatorial 
government had been upon its trial. Certainly it had 
done little to merit the confidence of the people. The in- 
surrection under Lepidus had indeed been easily put down, but 
more because he had not commanded the support of his own 
party than from any action of the Senate. The war in Spain 
had lingered so long that Rome had almost lost the province, 
and had been finished not by fair fighting but by assassination. 
The insurrection of the slaves under Spartacus had lasted for 
two years, and Spartacus had defied the Roman armies through- 
out the length of Italy, and had even threatened to blockade 
Rome herself. The war against the pirates was a failure, and 
after eight years the Mithridatic war had ended in a fiasco. 
So far, therefore, from the Senate displaying the power which 
had reconciled Rome to its rule in former days, it had only 
shown pitiable weakness. If now it were assailed it would 
find few supporters amongst the people. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE RISE OF POMPEY. 

The reaction against the Senate and the attack upon the Sullan 
77. constitution began immediately after the death of Sulla, and 
at first took the form of insurrection ; but after the defeat of 
Lepidus violent methods were abandoned, and the agitation 
proceeded on constitutional lines. The restoration of the 
power of the tribunes was always a popular cry, but there were 
other reforms scarcely less pressing. If under the equites the 
law courts had been badly administered, under the senators 
matters were worse, justice was sold, extortion was habitual, 
the provincials were robbed without mercy, the condemnation 
of senators and their friends could not be obtained, whilst for 
the masses there was security for neither person nor property. 
Daring men like Julius Caesar and Cicero tried to show up the 
worst cases in the courts, and the exposure had a healthy effect 
even when convictions could not be obtained ; but little real 
progress was made, for in the main the people were as bad as 
the Senators, and were easily bought oft' by the resumption 
of the corn doles. Neither amongst Senators, people, or 
agitators was there true patriotism — every man sought his 
own aggrandisement. 
71. This was the state of affairs in Rome when Pompey returned 

from Spain and helped Crassus to bring the slave war to an 
end. Pompey was an extremely ambitious man, an aristocrat 
by birth, but of a family recently ennobled, and somewhat 
unpopular with the older families. He knew that the Sena- 
tors would not promote him willingly, and he entirely ob- 
jected to the rules which Sulla had laid down — binding men to 

(652 



THE EISE OF POMPEY 653 

work patiently through the lower offices before they stood as 
candidates for the higher. Pompey had already got them to 
break through these rules by giving him pro-consular command 
in Spain ; and, now that he had returned at the head of a 
victorious army, he meant to have the consulship without more 
ado. In spite, therefore, of the fact that he, almost as much 
as Sulla, had overturned the democracy and set the oligarchy 
in its place, he made overtures to the democratic party, offering 
alliance on condition that they granted his terms. Crassus 
took the same line ; and as the two generals commanded be- 
tween them all the available troops in the country, the Senate 
had no alternative. Pompey and Crassus were therefore 70. 
elected to the consulship, and Sulla's rules having been again 
defied were now definitely abrogated. The armies still lay 
outside Rome, and before they were disbanded laws were 
passed restoring to the tribunes their initiative in legislation, 
and reconstituting the courts so as to admit both senators and 
equites. The confiscations carried out by Sulla were not 
interfered with, nor was the question of proscription reopened, 
for these were matters which might have proved inconvenient 
to both Pompey and Crassus. Fortunately also Sulla's 
arrangements with regard to the criminal law, the best part 
of his work, remained intact. 

As the troops were not at once dispersed, some feared that 
Pompey meant to seize regal power, but he disbanded his 
army and retired into private life. 

At the time when these events were happening things 
were going well in the east, where Lucullus had overthrown 
Mithridates ; but afterwards, as we have seen, misfortune over- 
took the Roman general, and he lost all that he had gained. 
Piracy also was triumphant, merchantmen dared not venture 
on the Mediterranean, and grain was at famine prices in Rome. 
Under these circumstances it was felt that a serious effort must 
be made ; and Gabinius, a tribune, proposed, that Lucullus 67. 
should be superseded by Glabrio in the Mithridatic war, and 
that extraordinary efforts should be made to stamp out piracy. 



654 EOME 

For the latter task he proposed the appointment of a com- 
mander with supreme control over the Mediterranean and its 
coasts for three years, with power to appoint his subordinates 
and raise whatever army, fleet, and money he might require. 
The commander indicated was Pompey, and the proposition 
meant that for three years he would have practical control of 
imperial resources. Yet the condition of affairs in Asia and on 
the Mediterranean demanded immediate remedy ; and notwith- 
standing opposition both from Senate and equites, the measure 
passed, and Pompey and Glabrio set out upon their respective 
tasks. 

Pompey amply justified the confidence which had been 
placed in him — clearing the pirates out of the western part of 
the Mediterranean in forty days, out of the eastern part in 
forty-nine, and making the sea safe for merchantmen in three 
months, so that corn came freely to Rome. The method which he 
adopted so successfully was creditable to his head and his heart. 
Instead of waging a war of extermination against the pirates 
(many of whom were exiles, more sinned against than sinning), 
and crucifying all he captured, as his predecessors had done, 
he offered life and freedom to all who laid down their arms. 
This took the bitterness out of the struggle, and the pirates 
quickly yielded to superior force. 

In the end of his campaign Pompey reached Asia Minor, 
where he found things still in an unsatisfactory condition ; for 
Lucullus had lost everything, and Glabrio, who had been sent 
to succeed him, refused to take over so thankless a task. Pom- 
pey had no legal authority to interfere in this matter, but after 
his success against the pirates, there could be little doubt that 
the command in Asia would be added to his other powers. 
66. Accordingly he waited, and at last Manilius, a tribune, pro- 
posed to recall Glabrio and confer the command of the Asiatic 
war upon Pompey. Cicero supported the proposal, and though 
by it Pompey 's powers, already very wide, were greatly in- 
creased, it was the best thing that could be done under the 
circumstances. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

POMPEY'S CONQUEST OF ASIA. 

When news came to Pompey that he had received the com- 66. 
mand of the Asiatic war he began his preparations ; and, being 
a popular general, soon raised an army of 40,000 or 50,000 
men, many of them being old Fimbrian soldiers, who now 
joined him as volunteers. Having taken over the com- 
mand from Lucullus, he invaded Pontus, where Mithridates 
had concentrated his forces. The king adopted Fabian tactics, 
avoided a pitched battle, and kept retreating. But Pompey 
by clever strategy got in front of him, and in a night 
attack annihilated his army. This was the battle of Nicopolis, 
and after it Mithridates could do no more. He escaped 
with a few companions, and would have sheltered in Armenia, 
but Tigranes, hoping to please the Romans, set a price upon 
his head, and the old king fled northward to the Caucasus. 
Tigranes was at war with the Parthians and with his own 
son, so that he was eager for a Roman alliance and at once 
accepted Pompey's terms, the cession of his conquests and 
the payment of an indemnity. 

Thus in one campaign and with little loss Pompey subdued 
the kings of Pontus and Armenia, and won back all that 
Lucullus had lost. The Romans were now supreme as far 
as the Euphrates, and there was no organised army in the 
field daring to dispute their power. For a time Pompey 
pursued Mithridates, but desisted when he fled beyond the 
Caucasus, and the king took refuge in the Crimea. Here he 
planned another enterprise against Rome, proposing to march 

by the northern shores of the Black Sea and thus invade 

(655) 



656 EOME 

Italy. But he was neither young nor popular enough to 
undertake such an expedition with hope of success. His 
subjects rebelled, the insurrection being headed by his son 
Pharnaces ; he was surrendered by the people of Panticapseum 
amongst whom he was living, and when he found that death 

63. was inevitable he committed suicide. 

Before these events transpired Pompey had completed the 
conquest of Pontus and proceeded southward to set Syria in 

65. order. Anarchy prevailed there, for Antiochus Asiaticus, the 
representative of the Seleucidse, who had been recognised as 
king by the Senate, had proved unfit to govern, so Pompey 
deposed him and turned Syria into a Roman province. The 
Jews resisted annexation, but as they were divided amongst 
themselves, Pompey easily subdued them. A remnant fought 
with desperate courage at Jerusalem, defending for three 

63. months the rock upon which the temple stood, but with their 
annihilation, and the submission of Damascus, the resistance 
to the Romans in Syria came to an end. 

Pompey had now vanquished the east, and Rome reigned 
supreme. Four new provinces were added to the empire : 
Cilicia, an old province, but greatly enlarged ; Bithynia, 
with Pontus, Syria and Crete. There were many dependent 
kingdoms and territories with which special treaties were 
made. Pompey did what he could to encourage the develop- 
ment of urban life in the new provinces. The interior of Asia 
was deficient in this respect, and Pompey established new 
towns, encouraged the existing cities by granting fresh privi- 
leges, and set many influences to work which were favourable 
to civilisation. 

Amidst so many things admirably done, Pompey made one 
mistake. Before Pontus and Armenia were subdued, and when 
the friendship of the Parthians was of consequence to Rome, 
both Lucullus and Pompey had promised that their territories 
should be left intact. This promise was not kept, for in the 
settlement Armenia profited at Parthia's expense, and though 
the Parthian king dared not oppose Rome at that time, a root 



POMPEY'S CONQUEST OF ASIA 657 

of bitterness had been planted which bore fruit in later years. 
On the whole, however, Pompey had been successful, and he 62. 
was ready to return to Italy. He was now rich, for he had 
looked well after his own interests, but this was an understood 
thing in Roman generalship. Rome also had gained financially 
by his victories, for the tribute which he imposed on the con- 
quered cities and provinces augmented the state revenues by 
fifty per cent. Judged by the standard of the time, he had 
served the city well and been faithful to his trust. 



42 



CHAPTER XXX. 

CICERO, CiESAR, CATILINA. 

Let us now see how affairs were prospering in Rome during 
the absence of her great general in the east. The Gabinian 
and Manilian laws had given Pompey greater power than 
had ever before been given to any Roman, but so far he had 
used the power well. The overthrow of the Sullan con- 
stitution had made the democracy paramount in Rome, and 
the senators did not struggle against the inevitable, but waited, 
hoping that the turn of fortune's wheel would some day bring 
them again to the top. Meanwhile the democratic leaders 
passed measures for further restraining them and correcting 
67. the abuses of government. The bribing of the Senate had 
been a glaring evil and the " lex Gabinia," which prohibited 
bankers from lending money at interest to envoys of foreign 
states, was passed with the view of making this less easy. 
The right of the Senate to give dispensation from the laws 
was also restricted, and efforts were made to check corrupt 
practices at elections. 

During this period the chief political leaders in Rome were 
Cicero and Caesar. 

Cicero was a native of Arpinum, the city where Marius was 

born, an admirer of Marius, and opposed to Sulla and the 

oligarchy. He was an admirable pleader in the law courts, 

and his speeches are still looked upon as models of eloquence 

and pure Latin. He was a delicate and somewhat timid man, 

but high-minded and trusted by the moderate men of both 

parties, being opposed " alike to socialistic schemes and to 

aristocratic exclusiveness ". As a great lawyer he was at- 

(658) 



CICEEO, C^SAR, CATILINA 659 

tached to the constitution and would have desired to see the 
government neither wholly oligarchic nor democratic, but 
representative of the whole body of the people. He was not 
strong enough to carry out his plans, for Rome was almost 
beyond hope of redemption, but his policy is intelligible 
enough, and with all his faults Cicero was better than most of 
those by whom he was surrounded. 

Caesar has been already mentioned several Dimes. He was 
of patrician descent, but thoroughly in sympathy with the 
people ; and as son-in-law of Cinna and nephew of Marius had 
special claims upon their regard. Caesar had ample courage, 
for he dared Sulla's wrath by refusing to divorce his young 68. 
wife, exhibited the bust of Marius at the funeral of his widow, 
replaced upon the capitol the trophies of Marius' campaign 
against the Cimbri which had been torn down by command of 
Sulla, pleaded earnestly for the enfranchisement of the children 
of the proscribed, and endeavoured to bring to justice those 
who had helped Sulla in his massacres. These actions endeared 
him to the people, and he still further commanded their ap- 
probation by the splendour of his games, which were on a 
lavish scale though paid for with borrowed money. He was 
bent on making himself popular, and on gaining a position, 
and there was a certain dash and good feeling about what he 
did that covered many faults. 

Caesar was not a rich man, but he found an ally in Crassus 
who was immensely rich and whose aims were similar. Caesar 
had supported the Manilian law, and was therefore to some 
extent responsible for the granting of extraordinary powers to 
Pompey, and like the rest he realised that the future of the 
state depended greatly on the use which Pompey might make 
of these powers when he returned. Caesar also knew how 
important it was that he should secure his own position before 
Pompey came back, and he made every effort to gain the 
friendship of the people. 

In the hope of providing a counterpoise to Pompey, Rullus, 63. 
a tribune, brought forward an agrarian measure of a com- 



660 EOME 

prehensive character. He proposed to sell all the domain lands, 
and, with the money thus obtained, to purchase land for distri- 
bution amongst the people. The work was to be entrusted to 
a commission of ten men, who were to have supreme jurisdiction 
for five years, and who would be powerful enough to keep 
Pompey in check. But the measure was unpopular, and it fell 
to the ground. 

There was in Rome a man named Catilina, a patrician, 
and a zealous supporter of Sulla, who had been a sharer in the 
crimes which he perpetrated, and was, apart from this, a man 
of profligate character. Deeply in debt, like so many of the 
nobles, he had become the leader of a band of vicious men 

67. whose chief hope of prosperity lay in upsetting the govern- 
ment. Catilina had been governor of the African province 
and aimed at the consulship, and for a time Csesar and Crassus 
supported him, though they had no sympathy with his con- 
spiracies. Having been twice beaten at the consular elections, 
Catilina became desperate and determined to retrieve his 
fortunes by violence. Italy was not prosperous ; there were 
many who were discontented, and he had no difficulty in 
obtaining supporters, amongst whom were a few leading men. 
When Catilina stood for the consulship, Cicero had been elected 
in his stead, and he, becoming aware of what was brewing, 

63. denounced Catilina 's schemes in the Senate, and received full 
power to act. For the moment he did nothing, but a month 
later he again denounced Catilina, who thereupon fled from 
Rome to Faesulee to head the insurrection. Cicero had become 
acquainted with the names of other conspirators, and they 
were arrested and executed without proper trial. It is to the 
credit of Csesar that he violently opposed this illegal course, 
even after the Senate had declared in its favour. The execu- 
tion of these men put an end to the conspiracy in Rome 

6 2. itself ; and Catilina, with such followers as remained faithful to 
him, was surrounded by the Roman armies and, fighting with 
desperate courage, perished. 

This conspiracy did Caesar and the other leading democrats 
no good. They had supported Catilina for the consulship and 



CICEEO, C^SAB, CATILINA 661 

some believed them implicated in the conspiracy, but this is 
improbable, for they had nothing to gain by the scheme ; and 
when we remember how carefully Caesar had held himself 78. 
aloof from Lepidus it is unlikely that he would have been 
led away by Catilina. The democrats were, however, dis- 
credited by the conspiracy, and Caesar's life was threatened, so 
that for a while he kept away from the Senate-house. But the 
arbitrary and illegal action of Cicero in executing the conspira- 
tors without trial, though approved by the people at the time, 
was seen by them in their calmer moments to have been a 
mistake, and caused a reaction in favour of the democrats ; 
so that Caesar who was amiable and pleasant in his manners 
was soon as popular as ever with the people. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. 

62. Pompey was now expected back from Asia. He had been very- 
successful, he was at the head of a devoted army, and the 
political future of Rome depended upon his attitude. It was 
little wonder, therefore, if the Romans, remembering how 
Sulla had behaved when he returned from Asia, were appre- 
hensive concerning Pompey. 

A year before he had sent an officer, Metellus Nepos, to 
Rome, to act in his interests. Metellus had been elected tribune, 
and tried to arrange that Pompey should have the consulship for 
the next year. Some thought that Pompey was thus aiming 
at combining civil and military power in his own person, but 
there was no reason for putting such an interpretation upon 
his actions. The position of consul would enable him more 
easily to superintend the distribution of land to his soldiers, 
and to obtain the ratification of all that he had done in the 
east. 

The Senate was led at this time by Cato, a descendant of 
the more famous man of that name, but pedantic and often 
unwise Guided by him they gave no quarter to the proposals 
of Metellus ; and when Caesar, who was praetor, supported 
them both, he and Metellus were suspended from office. The 
latter returned to the camp of Pompey in disgust, but Caesar 
remained in Rome and defied the Senate. 

The action of the Senate was fortunate for the democracy. 

Though Pompey had been promoted to his present position by 

the latter, there was much to incline him towards the more 

aristocratic section of the population, and had they played 

their cards well they might have won his support. They had 

(662) 



THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE 663 

now alienated him, and further events drew him still more 
towards the popular side. 

Pompey landed at Brindisi surrounded by his soldiers, but 61. 
instead of marching on Rome as most people expected and 
many desired, he disbanded his army, and reached Rome with 
a small escort. In this he acted as a good citizen, and there is 
no reason for attributing his action to other than high motives. 

Arrived in Rome, Pompey did not make any exorbitant 
demands. He had done the city magnificent service, he merely 
asked that his actions in Asia should be legally ratified, and 
that his promises to his soldiers that they should receive lands 
as compensation for their services should be fulfilled. Yet 
moderate though these demands were, the Senate declined to 
grant them. Lucullus, from whom Pompey had taken over 
command in Asia, one of the most influential senators, proposed 
that Pompey's actions in Asia should be considered not as a 
whole but one by one. There would have been danger in refusing 
the lands to the soldiers, so this demand was passed, but no 
steps were taken to carry it into effect. Deeply chagrined, 
Pompey turned to the democracy, but Caesar was in Spain, and 
the other democratic leaders feared to help him. His position 
was therefore most mortifying, for he seemed to have lost 
all influence and to have no party in his favour. This was 
the state of affairs when Caesar returned from Spain. He had 60. 
been sent there as propraetor, and had come back with military 
renown, and with a heavy purse, which was of some conse- 
quence, seeing that when he was on the eve of departure for 
Spain his creditors had threatened to arrest him for debt. 

When Caesar perceived how Pompey had been humiliated, 
he saw his opportunity, and proposed that a coalition should be 
formed between Pompey, Crassus and himself in furtherance of 
their respective aims. For the moment this meant that Caesar 
was to get the consulship, Pompey his demands, and Crassus 
privileges on behalf of the capitalists whom he represented. 

The combination of forces was irresistible. Caesar was popular 59. 
with the democracy and was elected to the consulship without 



664 EOME 

difficulty, and for the moment the government of the Roman 
empire was in the hands of these three men, or more strictly 
speaking in the hands of two of them, Caesar and Pompey. 

As consul, Caesar at once introduced his proposals to the 
Senate. These were, the division of lands to Pompey's soldiers, 
and poor citizens ; the ratification of his acts in Asia ; and a 
measure for the relief of tax farmers, instigated probably by 
Crassus. When the Senate rejected these measures in their 
usual high-handed way, Caesar withdrew them and brought 
them before the burgesses, who passed them at once and 
appointed Pompey to superintend the distribution of land — 
the matter which interested him most. 

Amongst the Senators who had made themselves specially 
obnoxious were Cato and Cicero, and it seemed desirable to 
remove them for a time, so this was done without violence. 
Cato was appointed to proceed to Cyprus and reorganise its 
affairs, and a bill was brought in to inflict banishment on any 
one who had executed a citizen without trial. No names were 
mentioned in the bill, but Cicero remembered what he had 
done at the time of the Catiline conspiracy and went away. 
Thus, without bloodshed, and in a perfectly legal way Caesar 
had gained his point, had acted loyally towards his colleagues, 
and earned the gratitude of Pompey. So friendly were the two 
leaders at this time that Pompey married the only daughter of 
Caesar. She was his third wife and he was twice her age, but 
they lived happily together. 

It was now permissible for Caesar to look after his own 
interests. He was ambitious, and his success in Spain entitled 
him to a governorship. The Senate proposed to put him off 
with a province where he would require no army, but this 
did not meet his views, so he was appointed to the governor- 
ship of Cisalpine Gaul for five years, the province of Narbo 
or Transalpine Gaul being afterwards added. This position 
suited him well, giving him control of a large army and at the 
same time enabling him to keep in touch with Rome. Accor- 
dingly he departed to his governorship, whilst Pompey remained 
to carry out the distributions of land and rule the capital. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

C^SAR IN GAUL. 

The part of Europe now called France was in the time of 
Caesar called Gaul, and was well peopled with tribes of the 
Celtic race. Their occupation was mainly pastoral and agri- 
cultural — they were famous horse-breeders, they lived mostly 
in open villages, but had a few walled towns, and in their best 
buildings used timber and stone interwoven in the manner 
still admired in some of our cities. 

The Greek city of Marseilles had been founded for a long- 
time, and was so prosperous that its merchants did a con- 
siderable trade with Gaul before the Romans became in- 
terested in the country. The Gauls brought Cornish tin to 
Marseilles, carrying it across Gaul by the rivers which almost 
unite the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; they had also iron 
mines, and were skilled metal workers. Their religion, which 
was Druidical, constituted a common bond, but politically they 
were weak, for they lacked centralisation ; and though they 
were willing to help each other, and could gather in large 
numbers at a crisis, their union was of a loose character and 
they scattered at the first reverse. 

Of late the Romans had been settling as colonists amongst 

the Gauls on a large scale. The country was fertile, the 

openings for speculation numerous, and Roman immigrants 

flowed in until the commerce of Gaul fell largely into their 

hands, and Roman farmers, contractors and cattle-dealers were 

to be found on all sides. This has to be remembered when we 

deal with Csesar's conquest of Gaul, which has been often 

represented as a conquest undertaken primarily from am- 

(665) 



666 EOME 

bitious motives. No doubt Caesar saw his way to furthering 
his own interests in his conquests, but he does not seem to 
have had more personal ambition than other men, and most of 
his proceedings in the province of Gaul can be viewed from 
a broader standpoint. 

The northern part of the Italian peninsula was now 
prosperous and well-peopled. It abounded in settlements — 
Parma, Cremona, Placentia, Florentia and others, many of 
which are of consequence even in the present day. It was 
important therefore that the province should be protected, 
partly for its own sake, but also because through it lay the 
high road to Spain, by way of Marseilles, with which city 

125. Rome was on friendly terms. It was indeed at the request of 
the Massiliots that Rome first extended her conquests into 
Transalpine Gaul, and after this interference a military post 

122. was established at Aquae Sextiae. During the next few years 
the Allobroges, the Vocontii and other tribes were reduced to 
submission, and the province of Narbonensis founded, with 
forts at Tolosa and Aquae Sextiae, and a colony at Narbo. 

This was the condition of things when the invasion of the 
Cimbri and Teutones took place, of which mention has been 
already made. For a time this invasion caused great alarm in 
Rome. The Germans had come in large numbers and consul 
after consul was defeated, until Rome herself was imperilled. 
At last Marius and Catulus were sent against the invaders, and 

101. crushed them in two battles — at Aquae Sextiae and on the 
Raudine Plain. After this for a good while there was no 
southward movement of consequence; and although tribal 
risings took place from time to time, the Romans traded in 
Gaul freely, so that Cicero declared it to be " crowded with 
Roman men of business, farmers, graziers, money-lenders and 
state contractors ". 

59. Before the time when the governorship of Gaul and 

Illyricum was assigned to Caesar, another movement of 
German tribes had begun, which threatened to assume for- 
midable proportions. It had been in progress for two or three 



C^ISAR IN GAUL 667 

years, and the Germans were crossing at various points along 
the Rhine. 

The Helvetii who inhabited a part of what we call Switzer- 
land, feeling the pressure of this German immigration, had 
themselves resolved to emigrate, and exchange the somewhat 
inhospitable regions where they dwelt for the pleasanter 
lands of France. When their preparations were complete, 
they destroyed their homes that they might not be tempted 
to return, and set out southward, intending to cross the Rhone 
at Geneva and proceed due west to Aquitania. This was their 
easiest route, but it entailed passing through a part of the 
Roman province. Caesar determined to intercept their march 58. 
and when 380,000 of them gathered at Lake Leman, he 
hurried from Rome with a single legion, broke down the 
bridge at Geneva and fortified the Roman side of the river. 
Finding their route obstructed, the Helvetii turned and marched 
over the passes of the Jura into the territory of the Sequani, 
a friendly tribe, and thus reached Gaul. They were now 
outside the Roman province and their faces were turned 
from Italy, so that Caesar might have left them alone, but 
this was not his plan. Hurriedly gathering a sufficient force, 
he followed by another route, and overtook them at the Saone, 
where he cut their rearguard to pieces before it could cross 
the river. He then crossed the Saone, and followed them 
until they were tempted to offer battle near Bibracte. In 
this battle they were completely beaten, and the survivors, 
only a third of those who had gone forth, were disarmed and 
sent back to Switzerland to defend their frontier against the 
Germans. 

After this battle Caesar was appealed to by the tribes of 
Middle Gaul to save them from Ariovistus, a German prince 
who had come across at their own request to help them against 
the iEdui, but who, having come, had remained. Caesar sent 
envoys to Ariovistus, but his messages were received with 
defiance, so the Roman army marched against the intruder. 
The soldiers were by no means willing to attack so formidable 



668 EOME 

a foe, but Caesar persuaded them, and a battle was fought near 
Miilhausen in which the army of Ariovistus was destroyed, 
only a few men, including the king himself, escaping across 
the Rhine. These events occurred during Caesar's first year 
in Gaul, and they were of high importance, for the line of the 
Upper and Middle Rhine was now won, and that river became 
the frontier of the Roman empire. 
57. As the Romans showed no intention of leaving the con- 

quered territory, and it became evident that Caesar meant to 
subdue the whole of Gaul, the Belgae, who lay north of the 
Sequani, and would be the next to be devoured, tried 
to be beforehand with the Romans, and gathered a force of 
300,000 men on their frontier, under the leadership of Galba, 
the king of one of their tribes. Caesar hesitated to attack so 
large a force and stood on the defensive, hoping that the 
coalition would break up. This soon happened, for the tribes 
having unsuccessfully attacked Caesar, became discontented 
and returned to their homes. When Caesar followed, most of 
the cantons yielded at once, but the Nervii made a bold stand 
for freedom, and a fierce battle was fought on the Sambre. 
For a time the issue was doubtful, but Caesar's personal 
gallantry prevailed and the Nervii were annihilated. The 
Aduatici held out for a time, and then begged for peace. 
Caesar granted it, but afterwards, on a plea of bad faith, 
sold 50,000 of them into slavery. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE CONQUEST OF GAUL. 

During his first year in Gaul Caesar won the Upper and 56. 
Middle Rhine, and in his second year the Lower Rhine. It re- 
mained for him to subdue the coast tribes on the Bay of Biscay, 
of whom the Veneti were the most important. This involved 
a naval campaign, and he built a fleet on the Loire. The con- 
quest was not easy, for the Veneti were a stout-hearted maritime 
people, but by using sharp sickle-like hooks the Romans tore 
down the rigging of their opponents' vessels, and thus had 
them completely at their mercy. At length they yielded, and 
to strike terror into the tribes and discourage further resist- 
ance, Caesar executed their councillors and sold the rest into 
slavery. 

Next year Caesar heard that two German tribes, the 55. 
Usipetes and the Tencteri, undeterred by the fate of their 
predecessors, had crossed the Lower Rhine in large numbers 
and were in Gaul. When he advanced upon them they ex- 
pressed their willingness to acknowledge Roman suzerainty, 
but Caesar suddenly attacked them and cut them to pieces ; 
and their fate prevented the German tribes from making 
further attempts to cross the Rhine. 

Caesar, however, thought it might be a good object lesson 

if he carried the terror of the Roman arms into the enemy's 

country, and built a pile bridge across the Rhine near Bonn. 

The tribes fled at his approach, laying waste their territory, 

but. Caesar had no wish to provoke conflict, and after ravaging 

the country for eighteen days he recrossed the river and broke 

down the bridge. 

(669) 



670 EOME 

Having shown the Germans how far the Roman arm could 
stretch, Caesar determined to teach the inhabitants of the 
island of Britain a similar lesson. Britain, though originally 
peopled by non-Celtic tribes, had now many Celtic inhabi- 
tants who sympathised with their kinsmen in Gaul, and 
viewed the rapid advance of the Romans with alarm. Ac- 
cordingly, partly as a demonstration, partly perhaps out of 
curiosity, Caesar crossed from Boulogne with a small fleet and 
two legions. He found the coast covered with the enemy, 
but landed near Romney Marsh, and the Britons slowly re- 
treated before him. His force was, however, too small to 
achieve anything of consequence, his fleet was damaged in a 
storm, and, when it was repaired, he was glad to return to 
Gaul, especially as the season was far advanced. 

54. During the winter he prepared a fleet of 800 vessels, and 

next year with five legions and 2,000 cavalry recrossed the 
channel. He was allowed to land unopposed, but Cassivel- 
launus followed his movements, devastating the country 
through which he passed, and preventing his getting sup- 
plies. Caesar crossed the Thames, and is believed to have 
got as far as St. Albans, but finding the route increasingly 
difficult, and hearing that his naval camp had been attacked, 
he thought it prudent to retire. Terms of peace were ac- 
cordingly arranged with Cassivellaunus. Csesar returned to 
the continent, and the islanders refrained from further 
interference with Roman affairs in Gaul. 

When Csesar returned he went into winter quarters, and 
for the sake of getting food more easily, divided his legions 
into six camps. Seeing their enemies thus weakened by 
isolation, the surrounding tribes determined to attack them 
one by one. The farthest camp was in the territory of the 
Eburones, and the legion there was decoyed from the camp 
and annihilated. The Eburones, now strongly reinforced, at- 
tacked the second camp in the canton of the Nervii, but 
Caesar brought relief and saved the legion. After this 

53. repulse the tribes dispersed for a time, but the state of 



THE CONQUEST OF GAUL 671 

affairs was so serious that Caesar wintered in Gaul and spent 
the next year in pacifying the country. The Rhine was again 
crossed, the Eburones hunted down and destroyed, and in the 
autumn Gaul was apparently again at peace, so that Caesar 
ventured to return to his usual winter quarters on the Italian 
side of the Alps. 

Caesar had now been in Gaul for six years, but he had never 
lost touch with the affairs of Rome. His winter residence was 
at Luca, only 200 miles from the capital, and he lived in great 
state, entertaining such Romans as might visit him, Pompey 
and Crassus amongst the rest. Affairs in the capital were not 
in a satisfactory state. Pompey was a weak ruler. On 
account of serious disturbances the consular elections had 
been postponed, and that same year, Crassus, who had gone to 
Syria as governor, had waged war against the Parthians and 
been destroyed with the greater part of his army. It seemed 
as if there might be civil war, and Caesar watched the pro- 
gress of events with close interest. 

The Gauls knew well what was passing in Italy, and saw 52, 
that the occasion was favourable for revolt. Caesar's severity 
in suppressing the last insurrection had exasperated the tribes? 
and the revolt was general — the Arverni, who had formerly 
been friendly to Rome, leading the movement. The insurgent 
general was Vercingetorix, an Arvernian noble of chivalrous 
character and high repute. It was hoped that as it was still 
midwinter and Caesar was south of the Alps, the insurgents 
might get between him and his army and destroy it before he 
could come to its help. But Caesar heard of the plot, and steal- 
ing round the Alps suddenly appeared at the head of his troops. 
That year he had plenty of hard fighting. Vercingetorix laid 
waste the territory, destroyed the smaller towns, concentrated 
his strength upon the defence of the larger, and avoided a 
pitched battle. After much trouble Caesar carried Avaricum 
(Bourges) by storm, but he failed at Gergovia, and was in such 
danger that his officers counselled retreat. Caesar, however, 
made a great effort, and, having combined his forces, attacked 



672 EOME 

Vercingetorix at Alesia. An obstinate stand was made, and 
Caesar had to protect himself by entrenchments against armies 
attacking both front and rear, but the determination and 
better discipline of the Romans prevailed and the enemy was 
routed. 

The battle of Alesia settled the fate of Gaul. In order to 
save his nation as far as possible from punishment, Vercingetorix 
nobly surrendered himself, and it is sad to think that the hero 
was imprisoned for five years, led in Caesar's triumph and be- 
headed. 
51. Very few of the tribes held out after this defeat. Most of 

them eagerly sought to make terms, and as Caesar was anxious 
to have his hands free he accepted their submission. Expedi- 
tions were undertaken against those who still resisted, and they 
were speedily overcome. After eight years Gaul was at length 
subdued, and so thoroughly, that when soon after, civil war 
broke out in Italy, the Gauls remained at peace. Caesar spent 
some time in organising the districts which he had conquered, 
and in settling their tribute and relationship to Rome. He 
tried to Romanise Gaul as far as possible, receiving leading 
inhabitants into Roman citizenship, and promoting such as 
were favourable to Roman sovereignty. He did not reduce 
Gaul to a province in the usual way, but wisely left much 
local independence to the tribes. After his death Augustus 
brought Gaul under the regular provincial system. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

POMPEY'S GOVERNMENT OP THE CITY. 

During Caesar's absence in Gaul it was Pompey's duty to see 
that nothing interfered with the interests of the coalition in the 
capital, and being thus at headquarters he had an excellent 
chance of improving his position and making his influence felt. 
Unfortunately, Pompey, though an excellent general, was a 
poor politician — able to deal with soldiers with whom his word 
was law, but not adroit when dealing with fellow-citizens. In 
any case the capital would have been hard to manage, for it 
had become a sink of iniquity. Slavery had caused the middle 
class to disappear, the best of the citizens had gone to live in 
the provincial cities and colonies, while Rome was thronged by 
men of all races, a majority of whom were or had been slaves. 
Any respectable men who remained in the capital eschewed 
politics, and Rome was ruled by the rabble. Pompey was by 
his very nature incapable of dealing with men of this sort, 
and things went from bad to worse. Life was unsafe in 
the streets ; and first, perhaps, for protection, but afterwards 
from political motives, wealthy men went about with body- 
guards, composed of gladiators and ruffians of every sort. 

Clodius was the greatest offender. He was an aristocrat, 
and had been used as a tool for a time by the coalition, but 
when Caesar's strong hand was removed, Clodius became master, 
and with organised armed bands ruled the streets. A quarrel 
broke out between Clodius and Pompey, which developed 
into so serious a feud that the latter found it necessary 
to have an armed body-guard, and when the rival bands 

fought, the men who supported Clodius were usually vic- 
43 (673) 



674 EOME 

torious. Pompey now feared for his own safety and re- 
called Cicero in the hope that he would check Clodius and 
bring about a better state of affairs in the city. Cicero there- 

57. fore returned, and was so well received that he thought he 
might yet save Rome by drawing together into one consti- 
tutional party the best men of all classes, and he tried to do 
this but tried in vain. 

Pompey's incapacity for the work which he had undertaken 
injured his reputation both with the Senate and the people, 
whilst Caesar's successes added greatly to his prestige, so that 
Pompey became restless, fearing he would be pushed aside 
altogether. It happened that at this time corn was at 
famine prices in Rome, for the government had neglected to 
follow up the work Pompey had begun in suppressing piracy, 
which was again causing serious trouble. Pompey, there- 
fore, proposed that he should be entrusted with the care of 
the corn supply, and have unlimited power with regard to the 
raising of money and troops. But the Senate was wary, and 
whilst it gave him control over the corn supply it cur- 
tailed his authority in other respects. Pompey was disap- 
pointed, but did the work allotted to him well, and then asked 
that the task of reinstating the Egyptian king, Ptolemy 
Auletes, might be conferred upon him. This request also was 
refused, and it became evident that the senators did not in- 
tend to give Pompey more military power than they could 
help. Had their attack upon the coalition ended here it 
would perhaps have been disregarded by Caesar, but whilst 
they snubbed Pompey, they attacked Caesar also, threatening 
his recall and the annulment of the laws which he had passed. 

56. It was clear therefore that the " triumvirs " must yet make 
common cause, and they had a conference at Luca, when their 
partnership was renewed upon a fresh basis, it being agreed 
that Caesar should have his command extended for five years, 
that Pompey should obtain Spain and Crassus Syria, and that 
the two latter should be consuls for the ensuing year. The 
conference was attended by many of their supporters, amongst 



POMPEY'S GOVEENMENT OF THE CITY 675 

whom were 200 senators, by whose aid the triumvirs were 
enabled to carry out their plans. 

The new coalition destroyed Cicero's last hope of saving the 
republic by the formation of a strong constitutional govern- 
ment, so he withdrew from the contest, and accepted office 
under Pompey. Other members of the Senate continued to 
oppose the triumvirs, however, and in the courts, and at the 
elections gave them much trouble. Literature was utilised 
against them, political pamphlets and poetry were freely used, 
and to Caesar's effort to repel these attacks we owe his com- 
mentary on the Gallic war, in which he sets forth with ability 
and modesty the importance of the military operations in 
which he was engaged. 

Feeling ran strong between the parties, and few elections 
took place without rioting. Once more the state of the city 
became a public scandal. Clodius, who, under pressure from 
Caesar, had been peaceable for a time, again became violent, 
and was rivalled in ruffianism by Milo, who stood for the 52. 
consulship and had the support of Cato and the party of 
opposition. By chance these men, accompanied by their 
retainers, met on the Appian Way, and when a fight ensued 
Clodius was killed. This led to fresh rioting, the Senate- 
house was burned, and the residence of Milo besieged. The 
election of Milo was now out of the question ; and having first 
refused to accept dictatorship from the mob, Pompey was 
elected "sole consul" by the Senate. 

Pompey was now supreme, and he used his power 
honourably in the interests of peace and good government. 
A commission was appointed to inquire into the murder of 
Clodius, an effort was made to amend the procedure of the 
law courts, laws were passed for the better conduct of elec- 
tions, and new rules laid down with regard to governorships. 
Pompey' s own governorship of Spain was extended for five 
years, and he obtained what troops he required, but left the 
actual superintendence of the province to his lieutenants, 
remaining himself in Rome to maintain order. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE BREAK-UP OP THE COALITION. 

The conference at Luca had agreed that Csesar and Pompey 
should obtain prolongation of their governorships in Gaul 
and Spain, whilst Crassus became governor of Syria. 

There had been trouble on the Syrian frontier ever since 
Pompey had broken his promise to the Parthian king, and 
shown Armenia undue favour at his expense. King Phraates 
had a wholesome dread of the Romans and refrained from war, 
but his son Orodes made war on Armenia, and Gabinius, the 
Roman governor of Syria, went to the help of that state. No 
sooner had he crossed the Euphrates, however, than he re- 
ceived instructions to restore Ptolemy Auletes, king of Egypt, 
55. to his throne, and had in consequence to postpone the Parthian 
war. When he had fulfilled his task in Egypt he returned, 
and was on the point of resuming operations against the 
Parthians, when Crassus arrived and took over the governor- 
ship. 

Crassus, though sixty years of age, burned to distinguish 
himself as a conqueror, and longed to carry the arms of 
54. Rome farther than Pompey had attempted, for whilst the latter 
had paused just beyond the Euphrates, Crassus desired to go 
as far as India. He therefore made careful preparations, and 
obtained funds for his expedition by spoiling the temples at 
Hierapolis and Jerusalem. 

In proceeding towards Parthia Crassus had a choice of 

routes, the desert route being the shorter whilst the other by 

way of Armenia was circuitous but safe, for Roman armies 

were weak in cavalry and better able to resist attack in a 

(676) 



THE BEEAK-UP OF THE COALITION 677 

broken country than on a sandy plain. The king of Armenia 
earnestly advocated the longer route ; but Abgarus, an Arab 
sheikh who ruled that part of the desert, assured Crassus of 
his fidelity, and promised to see the army safely across. 
The adoption of the desert route was fatal to the Romans. 
The soldiers knew nothing of desert warfare ; they could not 
protect themselves by entrenchments in the sand, and the 
march under the broiling sun wearied them beyond measure. 
On the other hand, the Parthians were sons of the desert. 
Their whole army consisted of horse and camel cavalry, which 
advanced and retreated at will, rarely coming to close quarters, 
but sending clouds of arrows from short range with unerring 
aim. Against such soldiers the mountains of Armenia would 
have formed a perfect protection ; in the desert plains of 
Mesopotamia the Romans marched to certain death. 

As the army advanced towards Carrhae (the Charran of 
Scripture) the way became more toilsome, but there was no 
sign of the enemy. At length some Parthian horsemen 
appeared, and Abgarus with his troop went in pretended 
pursuit. He did not return and Crassus pressed on without 
him. Suddenly clouds of dust were seen, and with the 
rattling of kettle-drums and flaunting of banners the Par- 
thians were upon them. Notwithstanding the advice of his 
officers that the legions should deploy, Crassus formed close 
order to resist cavalry. But this was no ordinary cavalry. 
They did not come to close quarters, but whirled round 
discharging arrows, for which the Roman ranks afforded 
a superb target. In despair Crassus ordered his son, who 
led the small body of cavalry which the Romans possessed, 
to charge the enemy at any cost. The Parthians fled before 
him and the Romans eagerly pursued, but when they were 
out of sight of the main body the Parthians wheeled about, 
surrounded their pursuers, and slew them to a man. 

When darkness fell, the Romans, leaving their wounded 
to certain death, fled to Carrhae. But Carrhge could not 
shelter them, and breaking into detachments they made 



678 EOME 

their way home as best they could. The division under 
Crassus was sore pressed and he was induced to hold a 
conference with the Parthian general. On the way to the con- 
ference a tumult arose, and he was slain with the officers who 
accompanied him. Of an army of 40,000, not one-fourth 
returned — 20,000 were slain ; the rest remained as serfs. 

Cassius, who had been lieutenant to Crassus, succeeded him, 
and had much trouble in holding Syria. The Parthians, 
however, did not invade in force for two years, and the Romans, 

51. then commanded by Bibulus, were badly prepared, but the 
Parthian general, Pacorus, the son of Orodes, came to terms with 
them in order that he might be free to rebel against his father. 
The danger of a Parthian invasion therefore passed away, but 
Rome did not venture to avenge the terrible defeat she had 
suffered, nor to extend her frontier farther eastward at that time. 

The death of Crassus broke one of the links which had bound 
Csesar and Pompey together. The year before, Pompey's wife, 
53. Caesar's only daughter, had died, so that there was less to unite 
the regents than there had been. Apart from this, Pompey's 
disposition inclined him to the aristocratic party — Caesar's to 
the democratic. Pompey was stiff, starched and exclusive ; 
Csesar, though of noble descent, was broad in his views and 
had popular gifts. Hence Pompey drew more and more 
towards the Senate, and the democrats began to realise that 
they must look to Csesar as their leader. 

When Pompey got the sole consulship for the reasons 
mentioned in the previous chapter he evidently contemplated 

52. a rupture, for whilst careful to safeguard his own interests he 
took no pains to look after those of Csesar. He was the less 
inclined to remain on good terms with his former colleague, 
because Gaul was in revolt under Vercingetorix and it seemed 
as if the conquests Csesar had made would be lost, in which 
case his popularity would suffer. For two years, there- 
fore, Csesar was treated with scant courtesy, and his demands 
received little attention. His command expired in March of 
49 B.C., and he hoped to be elected as consul for the succeeding 



THE BKEAK-UP OF THE COALITION 679 

year, but between the command and the consulship there 
would be an interval of some months during which he would 
be a private citizen, open to prosecution by any one who 
might be evil disposed. As the enmity of the Senate was pro- 
nounced, Csesar dared neither trust himself in their hands nor 
dismiss his soldiers and leave himself defenceless, and accord- 51. 
ingly he requested permission to stand as consul without 
coming to Rome. This was refused, and Csesar who was per- 
fectly informed concerning all that took place in Rome knew 
that evil was imagined against him. 

The purpose of the Senatorial party became yet more clear 
when two legions were demanded from Csesar for the contem- 
plated Parthian war. Csesar sent the legions, and they were 50. 
not despatched to Parthia, but kept at a convenient distance 
from Rome, to be used against their former master if the need 
should arise. 

After many attempts to come to such an understanding 
with the Senate as would secure his safety, Csesar sent a 
moderate and serious letter in which he pointed out that civil 49. 
war must follow if they persisted in the course they were 
adopting. Some members of the Senate were impressed and 
would have yielded, but they were overawed by the rest and a 
peremptory reply was sent, demanding that he should disband 
his army or be outlawed. The two tribunes, who spoke in his 
favour, were driven from the Senate-house and fled to him 
with their supporters, and the Senate gave orders to the 
magistrates and Pompey " to see that the state took no harm ". 

Caesar gathering his soldiers together, told them what had 
happened, and showed them what gratitude they were receiving 
from the Senate in return for years of toil and conquest. He 
had a good case and a sympathetic audience, and when he 
crossed the Rubicon — the streamlet that lay between his pro- 
vince and Italy — only one or two of his soldiers refused to 
follow his fortunes. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE COLLAPSE OF THE SENATE. 

49. When the necessity of self-preservation led Caesar to cross the 
Rubicon and march southward, his circumstances were far 
from encouraging. His men were loyal to him, but the 
greater part of them were in France, too far away to be of 
immediate service, and the legion which he happened to have 
with him at Ravenna was all he could count upon for the 
moment. His province was prosperous, well peopled, and 
ready to stand by him, for he had ruled wisely ; but the army 
and the province were the sum of his resources. Pompey had 
apparently an overwhelming force at his command. Rome 
was his, and Southern Italy ; Hither and Farther Spain were 
devoted to him ; Sicily and Africa were ruled by his governors, 
and the East was at his disposal. Moreover Pompey was 
acting on behalf of the commonwealth, and his actions had 
the semblance of legality ; whilst Caesar, to outward appear- 
ance, was a revolutionary. Thus the great conservative forces 
of Italy were arrayed on the side of Pompey, and saw in 
Caesar and those who surrounded him men banded together to 
throw the state into confusion. 

One thing was perfectly clear, that unless Caesar could 
strike quickly his cause was lost. Pompey had already called 
out the levy, and the men were gathering at various points : 
if Caesar waited he would find himself confronted by 60,000 
men. For the moment Pompey's available resources were 
limited, he had three legions which had been raised for the 
Spanish wars some years before and kept in Italy, and he 

had the two legions which had been lent by Caesar for the 

(680) 



THE COLLAPSE OF THE SENATE 681 

Parthian war and then kept in reserve, but the soldiers of 
these were as likely to desert to Caesar at the first opportunity 
as to fight against him. 

Pompey and the Senate probably thought that Caesar 
would delay operations until the spring, and that they would 
have time to do things decently and in order, so when they 
heard that in the month of January he had thrown himself 
into Italy with one legion and was on his way south they were 
much disconcerted. Pompey 's most reliable legions were at 
Luceria in Apulia, and as Luceria was about the same distance 
from Ravenna as Rome, Pompey naturally expected that Caesar 
would attack the legions before he ventured to advance 
upon the capital. As Caesar marched southward he divided 
his forces, half going with Mark Antony by way of Arretium, 
the rest under himself marching towards Apulia. Neither force 
met with any opposition worthy of the name. The recruits 
who were gathering in various centres fled at Caesar's approach ; 
some joined his standard ; his army increased every day ; 
and his confidence rose so high that he determined to leave 
Luceria alone, and march straight on Rome. This bold resolu- 
tion, his rapid advance, his unvarying success and the popu- 
larity he was gaining by his moderation utterly bewildered 
his opponents and threw them into a panic. The legions 
borrowed from Caesar were in Campania, but Pompey knew 
how little they were to be relied upon, and declared that it 
was impossible for him to defend Rome with the resources 
at his disposal. Accordingly there was an exodus of the 
aristocratic party, consuls, senators and nobles hurrying south- 
ward along the Appian Way. All was perplexity and alarm. 
A rally was made at Teanum and a conference held, at which 
another letter from Caesar was read offering terms. He pro- 
mised to dismiss his army, hand over his province, and become 
a candidate for the consulship in the ordinary way, if Pompey 
would disband his troops and go to his province. The infat- 
uated aristocracy would have none of this. Caesar must dismiss 
his army, return to his province and leave the rest to them. 



682 EOME 

Pompey now sent his lieutenant into Picenum with such 
troops as he had, to call a general levy, and keep Caesar in 
check. But the lieutenant finding that Northern Picenum was 
already lost, fell back on Corfinium, where 15,000 recruits 
were gathered together. So rapid were the movements of 
Caesar that even Corfinium could not be defended, and 
Pompey ordered the commandant Lucius Domitius Aheno- 
barbus to vacate the city and join him with all his forces at 
Luceria, where a stand would be made. Ahenobarbus, however,, 
obstinately clung to the city until it was too late, and then 
when he tried to save himself by flight the troops mutinied 
and surrendered to Caesar. After this crushing blow Pompey 
saw that Italy was untenable. He had 25,000 men, but 
Caesar's army had swelled to 40,000 and had the prestige of 
victory. No course remained but flight. The east was faith- 
ful to Pompey, and if he could only reach Macedonia he 
might soon be in possession of forces with which he could bid 
defiance to Caesar. Accordingly it was determined to abandon 
Italy, and soldiers and refugees gathered at Brindisi. There 
were not ships enough to take all at once, so 15,000 crossed 
first, and the rest waited the return of the fleet. Before the 
second detachment could leave Caesar was upon them, but 
Pompey showed much dexterity, and all got safely away. 
In two months Caesar had gained the whole of Italy. 

Though there can be little doubt that Pompey did the 
best he could under the circumstances, and had no alter- 
native but to abandon Italy or surrender, the collapse of 
the Senatorial party was discreditable. That they should 
have held supreme power for so long a time, and made no 
preparation for a danger which they recognised as imminent 
was bad enough. But that, being wholly unprepared, they 
should have obstinately refused the terms which Caesar offered, 
and have gratuitously plunged the country into civil war, was 
infinitely worse. 

Caesar was now master of the situation, and it remained to 
be seen how he would act. So far he had been most prudent, 



THE COLLAPSE OF THE SENATE 683 

doing everything he could to calm men's fears. He was 
studiously conciliatory ; he preserved strict military discipline 
amongst the soldiers ; no looting was allowed, and non-com- 
batants were protected. Kindness was shown to all. Those 
who cast in their lot with Cassar were welcomed ; those who 
preferred to leave were dismissed with courtesy. Aheno- 
barbus was allowed to depart, and Labienus, Csesar's favourite 
lieutenant, had his money and baggage sent after him when 
he fled to the camp of the enemy. This moderation made a 
deep impression upon the people, who had dreaded a return 
to the methods of Marius and Sulla. All this time the Pompeian 
refugees, maddened by failure, were writing letters to their 
friends in Italy, breathing out fire and slaughter, and declaring 
what they would do when they returned to those who had 
stayed behind. The contrast made waverers think, and men 
who desired to live peaceful lives, took sides with Caesar. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE DUEL BETWEEN CiESAR AND POMPEY. 

Notwithstanding the effect produced by Caesar's moderation, 
when he called together such of the Senators as had not 
emigrated with Pompey, and asked them to grant him the 
powers which would enable him to carry on the war in a legal 
way, they refused to comply. He did not waste time in argu- 
ment. He preferred to work with them, but could do without 
them, and finding them obstinate, he went on with the war in 
his own way. 

When Pompey first faced the necessity of leaving Italy, he 
thought of going to Spain, his own province, where he had 
faithful lieutenants and an excellent army, but the rapidity of 
Caesar's advance upset his plans and he fled to Asia instead. 
Caesar had now to choose whether he would follow him to Asia, 
49. or first subdue Spain, and as his legions were in Gaul he deter- 
mined on the latter course, and ordered his troops to concentrate 
on the Rhone. His opponents were not less active — Marseilles 
declared for Pompey, and the Spanish troops under Afranius 
and Petreius marched to seize the passes of the Pyrenees. But 
Caesar, detaching a force to besiege Marseilles, reached the 
Pyrenees first, and the Spanish army had to fall back on Ilerda. 
This was a strong position, and Caesar was in difficulties for a 
time, but at last he pressed them so hard that they capitulated. 
The soldiers were well treated, the Spaniards were disbanded, 
such of the Italians as chose to join his army were gladly 
received, the others brought back to the frontier of Italy and 
allowed to return to their homes. After this reverse the whole 

of Hither Spain and soon after Farther Spain yielded to 

(684) 



THE DUEL BETWEEN CAESAR AND POMPEY 685 

Caesar, and he could turn his attention elsewhere. Marseilles 
resisted stoutly for a time, but at length asked for an armistice 
until Caesar should arrive from Spain. The armistice was 
granted but broken by the Massiliots, and it would have 
gone hardly with them but for the arrival of Caesar, who 
accepted their surrender and prevented the legions from taking 
vengeance on the people for the alleged breach of faith. 

Caesar now returned to Rome, and was appointed dictator 
but he only remained in the city long enough to hold the elec- 
tions, at which he and Servilius Isauricus were formally chosen 
consuls for the ensuing year. 

During Caesar's absence in Spain, Pompey and his company 
had been laying schemes for starving Rome into surrender. 
They had a fine fleet and commanded the sea ; while Sardinia, 
Corsica, Spain and Africa, the grain producing countries, were 
under their control. The pressure was severely felt in Rome, 
but Caesar's lieutenants, Valerius and Curio, occupied Sardinia 
and Sicily, and to some extent relieved the city. The conquest 
of Africa was a harder task. Curio went there with two legions, 
and was successful at first, but being afterwards decoyed from 
his camp, was attacked at a disadvantage, his army annihilated, 
himself slain. 

Meanwhile Pompey had not shown as much energy as 
might have been expected. His powerful fleet had as yet 
done nothing to help Marseilles, Sicily or Sardinia. It kept 
control, however, of the Adriatic, a matter of importance, and 
blockaded two of Caesar's legions in the island of Curicta until 
they surrendered. 

Pompey's followers gathered in Macedonia, convened an imi- 
tation Senate at Thessalonica called "the three hundred," and 
conducted themselves in absurdly pretentious fashion. Their 
feelings against Caesar were bitterness itself, and the bringing in 
of his head was talked of as the necessary preliminary to peace 
negotiations. This rancour was not unnatural, but when they 
executed without pity such soldiers and officers of Caesar's army 
as fell into their hands, and many of them declared their in- 



686 EOME 

tention of treating without mercy every man of influence in 
Italy who had not emigrated with them, they alienated the 
best men in their own party. Cicero, who w r as in the camp, 
wrote in doleful terms about affairs, and tried to get Pompey 
to make peace, whilst Cato did not hesitate to declare that he 
feared the victory of his party more than their defeat. 

Pompey, proceeding in his leisurely w v ay, had now gathered 
a considerable force and might have invaded Italy, but the 
men were untrained ; and as legions were expected from Syria 
he did not hurry, but gathered stores at Dyrrhachium in readi- 
ness for a campaign in the spring. Caesar's impatient spirit 
could not brook such delay, and, determining to follow his enemy 
48. rather than wait for him, he concentrated his troops at Brindisi, 
where he had already gathered such vessels as he could com- 
mand. They were not numerous enough to carry the army 
across at once, and Caesar crossed with six legions, leaving Mark 
Antony to follow with the remainder. The Pompeians were 
taken by surprise, and the first detachment landed without 
opposition, but when the vessels were returning they were 
attacked with fury by the Pompeian fleet, and afterwards the 
coast of Italy was so blockaded that Antony found it impossible 
to follow. Thus Caesar was for a time in a most dangerous 
position, but Pompey's movements were so deliberate that 
Antony managed to evade the enemy's fleet and join his leader 
on the other side. Caesar now endeavoured to tempt Pompey 
to an engagement, but finding this vain, tried the experiment 
of blockading an army much greater than his own by lines of 
entrenchment. The experiment did not succeed. Pompey 
learned of a gap in the fortifications, and used the informa- 
tion so well that he cut Caesar's army in twain. Had he at 
this juncture either vigorously followed up the attack or at 
once invaded Italy it would have gone hard with Caesar and 
his fortunes. But he delayed, and Caesar retreating towards 
Thessaly had time to reunite his forces. He encamped near 
Pharsalus with an army consisting of 22,000 infantry and 
1,000 cavalry. Against these Pompey marched with 47,000 



THE DUEL BETWEEN CAESAR AND POMPEY 687 

infantry and 7,000 cavalry, and having encamped opposite on 
the slope of Cynoscephalae offered battle. It was an historic 
battle-field, for there, a century and a half before, the Romans 
had routed Philip and laid the foundation of their eastern 
empire. 

Pompey had the fullest confidence in his cavalry, but not 
being so sure of his infantry determined to keep the latter 
on the defensive, until the troopers, having scattered Caesar's 
handful of horsemen to the winds, should have time to wheel 
round and attack his infantry in the rear. Caesar, however, 
suspecting what Pompey's plan would be, placed 2,000 picked 
infantry in ambush, and when the exulting cavalry galloped 
round as arranged, they were suddenly confronted by this un- 
expected enemy and thrown into confusion. Caesar had given 
the men of this corps instructions not to throw their javelins 
in the usual way but to use them as spears, thrusting them in 
the faces of the troopers. This unlooked for and novel attack 
utterly demoralised the cavalry, who turned and fled, seeing 
which, Caesar's infantry, immensely encouraged, charged all 
along the line, the picked corps falling upon the flank of 
Pompey's army. When Pompey's front ranks wavered Caesar's 
soldiers shouted to spare the Romans but to kill the Asiatics, 
and this completed the demoralisation, for the Roman soldiers 
opened their lines and let Caesar's men through upon the 
Asiatics behind. As for Pompey, when he saw his cavalry 
gallop from the field, he lost hope, and returned to the camp, 
into which his army was speedily driven. Nor was it per- 
mitted to rest there. The camp was stormed, and when the 
soldiers fled farther, they were intercepted, 15,000 were slain, 
and next morning 20,000 laid down their arms. 

After Pharsalus, all but desperate men came over to the 
side of Caesar. Pompey, hotly pursued, fled first to Lesbos, 
then to Cilicia and Cyprus. He had some hope of restoring 
his fortunes by a Parthian alliance and proposed to reach 
Parthia by way of Antioch, but whilst in Cyprus he heard 
that Syria also had declared for Caesar. This closed the way 



688 EOMB 

to Parthia against him, and he determined to go to Egypt, 
where some of his old soldiers were stationed, hoping that 
they would befriend him and perhaps help him to renew the 
struggle. 

Ptolemy Auletes, the king of Egypt, had died three years 
before, and his children, Cleopatra aged sixteen, and Ptolemy 
aged ten, had succeeded as joint rulers. Quarrels had arisen 
between the youthful monarchs, and the guardians of the boy 
king had driven Cleopatra from the kingdom, and when she 
raised forces and would have invaded Egypt, Ptolemy with 
the Egyptian army confronted her at Pelusium. This was 
the state of affairs when Pompey arrived, and, casting anchor, 
sent asking Ptolemy's permission to land. The young king's 
advisers were in a dilemma. If they received Pompey they 
would offend Csesar, if they drove him away he might join 
Cleopatra and do much mischief, so they solved the problem 
by inviting him to land in a small boat, and as he landed they 
assassinated him. It was a sad ending to a man who was not 
without some claim to greatness. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

When Caesar reached Alexandria in pursuit of his rival he 48. 
heard the sad story of his death. We are told that he was 
greatly agitated, and can well believe it, for the men had 
been connected as relatives and friends for many years, and 
the quarrel between them had not been of Caesar's seeking. 
Nor did Caesar gain much by Pompey's death, seeing that 
he had left two sons, one of whom was capable of taking his 
place as leader. 

It might have been better had Caesar not tarried in Egypt 
now that Pompey was no more, for he was greatly needed in 
Italy and Africa, but being in Egypt he decided to settle its 
affairs. He had but 4,000 men with him, but he boldly took 
up his residence in the palace, began to collect what treasure 
he could, and ordered Ptolemy and Cleopatra to cease hostili- 
ties, and to rule jointly in accordance with their father's will. 
This they might have done, but the people of Alexandria, 
an exceedingly turbulent and mixed population, saw no reason 
why a stranger like Caesar, supported by a handful of men, 
should interfere with their affairs, and seize Egyptian treasure. 
There was an army of occupation in Egypt, nominally Roman, 
but from its long sojourn, now almost Egyptian, and, certainly, 
nowise attached to Caesar and his interests. This army joined 
the people and they blockaded Caesar in the palace. He was 
in great danger, but his courage did not fail him. Having 
sent orders to Asia for reinforcements, he entrenched himself 
and just managed to hold his own, one battle being fought 

for the recovery of the island of Pharos in which he only 
U (689) 



690 EOME 

saved his life by swimming. Fortunately he had burnt the 
Egyptian war fleet and his vessels kept command of the 
roadstead so that he was not completely surrounded. At last 
a relieving force arrived under Mithridates of Pergamus. It 
was a motley company, having amongst other contingents one 
of Jews led by Antipater, whose services were afterwards 
gratefully remembered by Caesar. Mithridates led his army 
cleverly so as to avoid the difficulties of the Delta, and Caesar 
47. having effected a junction with him, attacked the Egyptian 
army and overthrew it, the young king with many others 
being drowned in trying to escape. 

The Alexandrians now made full submission, and Caesar 
was merciful. They had been already severely punished, 
for many of their public buildings had perished, and in them 
valuable parchments and papyri. Matters having ended thus 
happily for Caesar he left Cleopatra as queen, with three 
legions to protect her, and hastened to look after his other, 
and much-neglected duties. 

War had broken out in Asia Minor, and Calvinus, Caesar's 
lieutenant, had been beaten by Pharnaces, the son of Mithri- 
dates the Great, who had seized Pontus and was bent upon 
re-establishing his father's kingdom. Caesar advanced against 
Pharnaces without hesitation, defeated him at Zela, and finished 
the campaign in five days. It was from this place that he 
sent to Rome the famous despatch " Veni, Vicli, Vici". 

Caesar now returned to Rome, and made various necessary 
arrangements, but he could not rest, for his enemies were not 
yet fully conquered. Africa had never been wrested from the 
Pompeians, and all that remained of them had gathered there. 
Cato governed at Utica, where another imitation Senate had 
been formed. Metellus Scipio commanded the forces, and Juba, 
king of Numidia, who had defeated Curio some time before, 
was in alliance with them. Had Caesar proceeded to Africa 
immediately after Pharsalus his task would have been easy, 
but the moral effect of that victory had passed away and 
another army had been gathered by his enemies. When 



THE END OF THE CIVIL WAK 691 

he at length determined on action he ordered the legions 
which were in Campania to prepare for embarkation. These 
were composed of men who had seen long service and were 
entitled to be relieved, whilst their recent inaction in Cam- 
pania had demoralised them. When therefore orders came 
to proceed to Africa they mutinied, stoned their officers and 
marched in a mass to Rome to demand their discharge. 
Caesar, hearing of their approach, hastily arranged for the 
defence of the city, and then issuing forth, suddenly appeared 
in their midst and asked their will. When they clamoured 
for, discharge he at once granted their request, bidding them 
go, and telling them that, when he and his faithful soldiers 
were triumphing, they might return and receive their share 
of the gifts and lands, though as discharged soldiers they could 
not share in the triumph. He spoke with great sternness, 
addressing them not as " comrades " but as " citizens," and the 
soldiers affected by this, taken aback by his willingness to let 
them go, ashamed by his generosity in not depriving them of 
their gifts and lands, and stung by the thought that they 
would lose the glory of the triumph, broke down and begged 
him to receive them back into favour. The incident shows, 
more perhaps than any other with which we are acquainted, 
the extraordinary influence Caesar had over his men. 

These difficulties disorganised the African expedition, and 
Caesar, impatient of delay, crossed with only part of his forces 
and was for a time in considerable danger. Even when the 
reinforcements arrived his position was difficult enough, for 
he was greatly inferior to his enemies in cavalry and the 
conditions of desert warfare are so peculiar that it was 
hardly necessary for the Pompeians to do more than decline 
battle to ensure his eventual discomfiture. Fortunately, 
however, Scipio determined to make a stand at Thapsus, 
and began to entrench a position opposite Caesar's camp. 
Whilst some of Scipio's men were entrenching, and the 
rest on guard, Caesar's men, standing opposite, observed 
their careless array, and suddenly, without waiting for a 



692 ROME 

command, ordered the trumpeter to sound the charge and rushed 
upon the enemy, Caesar having just time to gallop to the front 
and lead them. The Pompeians, completely surprised, were 
overthrown at the first onset, and Caesar's soldiers, sick of the 
prolonged war and eager to end the matter, cut them down 
46. without mercy. Fifty thousand Pompeians fell, and only about 
fifty of Caesar's troops. 

The Pompeian cause was now lost, and Cato summoned the 
Senate in Utica to decide upon their future course. Some 
were for capitulation, some for flight, Cato arranged for 
each man as best he could, and then slew himself. Most of 
the Pompeian leaders had fallen. A few, including Labienus. 
and Sextus Pompeius, escaped to Spain, where they found 
refuge with Gnaeus Pompeius who was already there. Caesar 
settled the affairs of Africa, forming Numidia into a province, 
and made Sallust, the eminent historian, governor. He then 
returned to Rome, where he enjoyed four triumphs, for victories 
in Gaul, Egypt, Asia Minor and Africa. For Pharsalus, his 
greatest victory, he was, in accordance with custom, not allowed 
to triumph, because it had been won over fellow-citizens in 
civil war. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

CiESAR IMPERATOR. 

Caesar had now attained the pinnacle of his ambition. In 
Rome he had no rival, and as master of Rome he was master of 
the world. To this high position he had climbed by merit. 
Naturally delicate, in youth careless, with no military ex- 
perience worthy of the name up to the age of forty, he had 
suddenly abandoned the follies of youth, become an abstainer 
from wine, and had so thrown his energies into life, that he 
was not only the greatest of living Romans but the greatest 
Roman that ever lived. The opportunity for the development 
of his latent greatness had come with the command of the 
Gallic provinces. Reigning in Gaul like a king, thrown 
entirely on his own resources, that which was in him soon 
showed itself. As a general it is doubtful if the world has 
ever seen his equal. No matter how greatly he was handi- 
capped, or how soundly beaten in the beginning, every cam- 
paign ended with victory. When other men would have been 
despairing and calling upon their armour-bearers to slay them, 
Csesar was at his best. When the enemy thought him crushed 
he was most dangerous. Caring little for routine and nothing 
for tradition, he sought with eagle eye and unerring instinct 
for the best way of meeting every emergency. Other generals 
handling large armies have done great things, but " for rapid 
and daring action," often with extremely inadequate means, 
and attended by uniform success, Csesar stands alone. 

But Csesar was far more than a general — he was an orator, 
an author, and a statesman. Pompey could lead men on the 
battle-field, but in the council chamber or Senate he was 

useless, whereas Csesar was everywhere supreme. To his 

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694 EOME 

absence in Gaul he undoubtedly owed much of his well- 
balanced mind. Had he remained all his life in Rome he 
would have achieved nothing of consequence for that city, for 
in the distraction and corruption of city life he would not have 
seen what Rome needed. During the years spent in Gaul he 
realised the pettiness of mere party strife, and saw beneath 
the surface into the reality of things. He left Rome a party 
leader, he came back a king of men. 

If Caesar was great, the task he had to accomplish was also 
great. It would hardly be possible to use language too strong 
to describe the condition into which Rome had sunk. In her 
early days she had been famous for the simplicity of her rule. 
At home her citizens despised luxury and endured hardness ; 
abroad they ruled with unimpeachable integrity, whilst in her 
armies they fought shoulder to shoulder in defence of hearth 
and home. The deterioration of the state was attributable to 
many causes, but of these two stood out prominently. When 
Rome carried war beyond the region of self-defence and fought 
for conquest, she took the first step on the downward path ; 
when she enslaved the vanquished she sank more deeply still. 
The first general who sent conquered tribes as slaves to the 
Roman market cursed his country with an unspeakable curse. 
It was not so much the cruelty to the slaves themselves that 
injured Rome, as the fact that their lavish importation ruined 
free labour and corrupted the morals of the people. Capitalists 
used slave labour in country and city more and more widely, 
until the freemen, driven out of every honest calling, became 
mendicants, and the substantial middle class, the backbone of 
a healthy country, ceased to exist. Caesar's' province, the 
part of Italy lying between the Alps and the Apennines, 
was well peopled and prosperous, but Etruria and Southern 
Italy were in a lamentable condition. The best of the people 
had emigrated, the country towns, once full of life and 
bustle, were depopulated. Here were plantations and fac- 
tories, swarms of slaves, and the crack of the overseer's whip 
— there silence and desolation. 



C^SAR IMPEEATOE 695 

As for Rome itself, it was little better than a den of thieves. 
Honesty could scarcely be found ; crime and unspeakable cor- 
ruption abounded. For many years it had been the habit to 
give grain either free or at a nominal price to all who asked 
for it. Three hundred and twenty thousand persons were 
thus being fed at state expense, and Rome was a haven of 
refuge for every idle vagabond in the land. 

"Imagine," it has been said " a London with the slave popu- 
lation of New Orleans, with the police of Constantinople, with 
the non-industrial character of modern Rome, and agitated by 
politics after the fashion of Paris in 1848; and we shall acquire 
an approximate idea of the republican glory, the departure of 
which Cicero and his associates in their sulky letters deplore". 

Nor was corruption confined to the lower orders ; it per- 
meated all classes of society. Morality was held as con- 
temptible, family life as old-fashioned folly, while under a 
veneer of politeness and courtesy lay concealed the moral 
tone of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Caesar, therefore, aiming at the regeneration of his country 
had not an easy task. But he did his best. To begin with, 
he saw to it that there was no reign of terror. He declared 
his intention of making no difference between Caesarians 
and Pompeians, and he kept his word. The outlawed were 
welcomed back ; forfeited property was as far as possible re- 
stored ; all, except pure banditti, and officers who had broken 
parole, were pardoned. At Pharsalus, when Pompey's corre- 
spondence was found and Caesar could have incriminated 
hundreds of citizens, he flung the papers into the fire unread, 
and this was a sample of his conduct throughout. Of course 
his generosity was misunderstood, friends were often alienated, 
enemies were not always reconciled. But Caesar went on the 
even tenor of his way, trying to interest all in his adminis- 
tration, and to utilise the best talent he could find for the 
regeneration of the state. 



CHAPTER XL. 

THE GREATEST ROMAN OP THEM ALL. 

Caesar worked incessantly at reform. He improved the 
economic condition of the city by halving the corn doles and 
changing them as far as possible into genuine relief of the 
poor, by employing men on public works, and by sending 
80,000 of the able-bodied to transmarine colonies. He broke 
up the semi-political clubs which had been a source of so 
much evil ; he greatly improved the police organisation and 
the administration of justice. He also set on foot projects 
for draining the Pomptine marshes, for diverting the Tiber, 
and for improving the harbour at Ostia. 

The condition of the Roman provinces was very bad. 
Administrators and tax collectors had been bound by no law. 
The Roman oligarchy, like a band of robbers, had sent the 
most clever out to plunder, whilst the spoil was shared by all. 
Taxation, military requisitions, and the quartering of troops 
so crushed industry in the provinces that it was scarcely 
worth while to cultivate the soil. From king to peasant, all 
were alike bankrupt, and unspeakable misery brooded over the 
nations. Caesar endeavoured to change this as far as possible. 
He fixed the contributions of the communities of the subject 
provinces at a reasonable figure, and permitted them to collect 
the taxes in the way that best suited themselves. Special im- 
perial officials were set aside for the collection of taxes, and 
the duties of the governors of the provinces were confined to 
justice and administration. 

In the country districts of Italy Csesar endeavoured to 

divide the land more equitably without unduly disturbing 

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THE GREATEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL 697 

existing owners and occupiers. He sent reinforcements of 
inhabitants to the decaying towns, and compelled owners of 
estates to employ a certain proportion of free labour. 

The Roman magistrates, who had been the rulers of the 
state, were relegated to their proper function as officials. 
The government was concentrated in Caesar as head of the 
state, an arrangement adhered to by his successors. The 
Senate was enlarged to 900, and made more representative — 
discharged officers of the army, and the sons of freedmen and 
representatives from the provinces, including nobles from 
Gaul, being admitted. From this time the Senate occupied a 
new place in the constitution, never again becoming the para- 
mount authority, but being used as an instrument to advise 
the head of the state and register his decrees. 

Nor was Caesar's reforming energy confined to the political 
field. The calendar was hopelessly confused. The length 
of the year had not been correctly ascertained, and the 
Pontiffs had made it longer or shorter for political purposes, 
until the festivals were several months wrong. Caesar em- 
ployed Sosigenes, an Alexandrian Greek and astronomer, to 
superintend the correction of the calendar, thereby conferring 
a benefit not only upon Rome but upon the civilised world. 
In order to bring the seasons right, the year then current was 46. 
made to consist of 445 days, and subsequent years were fixed 
at 365^ days, leap year being introduced. The calculation 
was not absolutely exact, but it was so nearly right that 
no readjustment of the calendar took place for sixteen 
centuries. 

Caesar was interrupted in these beneficent reforms by the 
breaking out of war in Spain, where Labienus and the sons of 
Pompey had taken refuge. So serious was the revolt that 
Caesar found it necessary to go to Spain in person. He 
brought the enemy to bay at Munda, a town of Andalusia, 45. 
and after one of the most desperate struggles in his experience 
he gained the victory, 30,000 Pompeians being left upon the 
field. Labienus died in the battle ; the sons of Pompe} r escaped. 



698 EOME 

Gnaeus J'ompey was slain shortly after; Sextus took refuge 
in the mountains. 

Caesar returned after a year's absence, received another 
triumph, and addressed himself once more to the work of re- 
form. Every conceivable honour was heaped upon him, the 
coinage was stamped with his image, statues of him were 
erected, and in some places worshipped, the name Imperator 
was given to him, not with the former meaning of victorious 
general, but in the sense of supreme ruler, a sense which it 
afterwards retained. 

The title of king was offered him repeatedly, but refused. 
" I am no king," he said, " I am Caesar ". 

He ruled Rome for but five and a half years, and during 
that time was only able in the intervals of seven campaigns, 
to spend in all fifteen months in the capital, yet in these 
months he almost revolutionised the Roman world. It is 
probable that he had planned many of the reforms during the 
years which he had spent in Gaul, but their execution needed 
incessant toil, and Caesar toiled ungrudgingly. 

It is of the very nature of reform to create enemies, and 
Caesar's reforms were so thorough that many were aggrieved. 
In addition to these unavoidable enemies, there were some 
amongst the nobles who could not brook his greatness, or 
understand that he was working out the salvation of the 
state. Unable to appreciate true nobility of character, they 
were filled with envy, and saw in this magnificent worker, 
whom a too indulgent fortune had given to the Roman state, 
only a common tyrant of the Greek type. Using solicitude 
for the republic as a pretext, and pretending in the usual 
44. Roman fashion that Caesar was snatching at kingly power, 
about sixty of these misguided men banded themselves together 
in a conspiracy and swore to have his life. Of the sixty there 
was scarcely one who had not been deeply indebted to Caesar for 
favours, and many of them had been raised by him to rank and 
honour. It was arranged to assassinate him on the Ides, that 
is the 15th of March, in the Senate-house. The plot became 



THE GEE ATE ST EOMAN OF THEM ALL 699 

known, and Caesar was warned not to attend the Senate on 
that day, but just about the hour of assembly his friend Brutus 
came to escort him thither. Brutus had fought on Pompey's 
side at Pharsalus, but had been forgiven by Caesar, and since 
the battle had been treated like a son. That very year he 
had been made praetor, and had even been promised the 
consulship, yet he had joined the conspiracy against his 
benefactor. Persuaded by him, Caesar went to the Senate, 
and when, on his way, some one sought to warn him of his 
danger, he brushed him aside. Once inside the Senate- 
house he was surrounded by the conspirators, and when he 
sat down, one of them presented a petition, whilst the rest 
pressed importunately round. Caesar, now suspecting danger, 
sprang to his feet, but was set upon and stabbed repeatedly. 
For a moment he fought the murderers, but when he saw 
Brutus, to whom he had shown so much affection, advance 
with uplifted dagger, he piteously cried, " And thou, Brutus ! " 
and resisted no longer. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 

44 - If Caesar's assassins thought that their deed would be popular 
they were quickly undeceived. Rushing into the forum they 
declared that they had slain " the tyrant," but were received 
with silence and made to feel that the sympathy of the people 
was with their victim. 

The Senate met two days after the murder, and its members, 
dreading civil war, thought it best to declare an amnesty for 
the assassins. But the friends of Caesar were in the ascend- 
ant. Lepidus, the master of the horse, lay on the Campus 
Martius with a legion, whilst Antony took possession of the 
Imperator's house and papers, and stood forth as his repre- 
sentative. The Senate formally confirmed Caesar's acts, and 
Antony, taking advantage of this, made much political capital 
out of the papers which Caesar had left behind. Amongst 
these was his will, in which he named Octavius, his great- 
nephew, as his heir, and left his gardens across the Tiber to 
the Roman people, and a gift of money to each citizen. 

Antony was appointed to deliver the customary oration 
at Caesar's funeral, and addressed his audience in such fashion 
that they could not contain their indignation against the 
murderers and ran to set fire to their houses. For the 
moment the crowd was beaten off, but the conspirators deemed 
it prudent to fly from the city, thus leaving Antony master of 
Rome. 

Octavius, the nephew and heir of Caesar, was eighteen years 
of age, and had been training in the camp at Apollonia, wait- 
ing to accompany his relative to the proposed Parthian war 

(700) 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATEA 701 

Hearing of his death he at once returned to Rome, and 
claimed the inheritance. Antony opposed him, but he persisted, 
and when he could not obtain possession of Caesar's fortune 
wherewith to pay the legacies left to the citizens, he disbursed 
his own. In this way, and by assuming the name of Caesar, 
he became extremely popular, so that the state was now 
divided into three factions, the adherents of Antony, of 
Octavius, and of the conspirators. 

At this time Cicero was a power in the Senate. Though 
not one of the conspirators, he condoned their crime, and had 
taken up a position of intense hostility to Antony, attacking 
him in a series of orations known as the Philippics. Cicero 
was an estimable man, sincerely anxious to reform the con- 
stitution, and prevent Rome from falling under autocratic 
power, but the circumstances of the time were against him, 
for only autocratic power could save the state. 

Antony soon saw that, if he was to keep his position, he 
must have an army at command, and having persuaded the 
Senate to give him the province of Cisalpine Gaul he set out 
thither. His absence gave Cicero and Octavius their oppor- 
tunity, and they used it so well that the Senate declared war 43. 
against Antony, and sent the consuls, with Octavius, to attack 
him. Antony was defeated, but both consuls were slain. 
Octavius now expected the consulship and the supreme com- 
mand, but this did not suit either the Senate or Cicero, who 
were as little inclined to let Octavius become master of the 
state as Antony. They therefore endeavoured to pass him 
over, but he had won the hearts of the soldiers, and, returning 
to Rome, he forced the Senate to elect him. Thus he gained 
his point, but a breach had been made, and he felt that he 
had now little to expect from the Senatorial party. 

After his defeat Antony fell back upon Transalpine Gaul, 
and having joined forces with Lepidus advanced with seven- 
teen legions. Octavius marched against them, but a conference 
was held at Bononia by the leaders, which ended in a deter- 
mination to divide the Roman world between them. The 



702 EOME 

coalition then marched upon Rome, where the alarmed Senators 
ratified their agreement, appointing them commissioners for 
"the reorganisation of the state". The three allies inaugu- 
rated this, "the Second Triumvirate" by a proscription after 
the manner of Sulla, but without his excuse. Three hundred 
Senators and 2,000 knights were included in the proscription, 
and amongst these Cicero was one of the first to fall. Some 
of the proscribed saved their lives by flight ; the rest were 
slain ; the property of all was confiscated. 

42. After the reign of terror, Antony and Octavius left Lepidus 

in Italy, and crossed to Greece in pursuit of Brutus and 
Cassius, who had fled to Asia and were in command of a large 
army. On hearing that their enemies were approaching, they 
returned and the rival armies met at Philippi. In the first 
battle the wing commanded by Brutus was successful, but 
Cassius was routed, and, believing that Brutus had shared his 
fate, he slew himself. Twenty days later Brutus, also de- 
feated, threw himself upon his sword, whereupon most of the 
troops surrendered at discretion. 

The triumvirs had now established their power and a fresh 
division of the empire was made between them, Octavius 
taking the west and Antony the east, whilst Lepidus had to - 
content himself with Africa. 

There still remained one enemy to be reckoned with, Sextus 
Pompeius, who had received command of the fleet on the 
death of Csesar. After the battle of Philippi the ships which 
Brutus commanded, and such soldiers as dared not expect 
quarter, went over to Sextus, who now dominated the Medi- 
terranean and prevented corn vessels from reaching Rome. 
The condition of the citizens was therefore miserable enough, 

41. nor was it bettered when an insurrection was raised against 
Octavius by Lucius, Antony's brother, and Fulvia his wife. 
Lucius gained possession of Rome, but was not strong enough 
to hold it and had to retire to Perusia, a city of Etruria. Here 
he was closely besieged by Octavius, and at length, reduced by 
famine, threw himself on the mercy of the conqueror. Octavius 



ANTONY AND CLBOPATEA 703 

received him honourably and pardoned him, after which he 
returned to Rome. 

Octavius was now free to deal with Sextus, and sent 
Agrippa, an able and devoted officer, to dislodge him from 
Sicily. The struggle was tedious, but ended in a decisive 
victory for Agrippa and the flight of Sextus, who died in 36. 
the following year. 

Whilst Octavius was thus consolidating his power in the 
west, Antony, in the east, was living a reckless life. At the 
time when Julius Caesar was in Egypt, Antony had become 
acquainted with Cleopatra, and now that he was a conqueror, 
and in Caesar's place, he commanded her to meet him at Tarsus, 
and clear herself of some imputation of infidelity to his cause. 
Cleopatra came gladly, and so captivated Antony that he 
accompanied her to Egypt and became her devoted slave. 
His luxurious life in Alexandria was broken in upon by the 
news of the civil war which his wife and brother had fomented, 
nominally on his behalf. After their defeat he sailed to Italy, 40. 
and landed at Brindisi. For a time war with Octavius seemed 
inevitable, but a reconciliation was effected, and Antony's wife 
Fulvia having died opportunely, he sealed the treaty by 
marrying Octavia, the sister of his rival. 

In the agreement between Antony and Octavius the pro- 
vince of Africa had been reserved for Lepidus, but he considered 
himself badly used, and after Sextus Pompeius was crushed, 36. 
he seized upon Sicily and declared his intention of exacting a 
fair share of the spoils of government. Octavius, however, 
crushed the revolt at once, and Lepidus, banished to Circeii, 
ceased to influence history. 

Whilst Antony was living in indolence at Alexandria, the 40 - 
Parthians had invaded Asia, and overrun Syria, Judaea and 
Cilicia. When therefore Antony and Octavius became recon- 
ciled, it was of the first importance that the former should 
hasten to Asia to meet this formidable enemy. Antony lingered 
in Greece, but sent on Ventidius, his lieutenant, who routed 
the Parthians and drove them across the Euphrates. 



704 EOME 

38. Somewhat piqued, perhaps, by his lieutenant's success, 

Antony recalled him, and determined to take the war into 
his own hands. Accordingly he left Octavia behind at Taren- 
tum and marched eastward, but at Laodicsea he sent for 
Cleopatra and once more fell into her toils. The Parthian 
invasion was deferred, and even when Antony did set out, he 

36. mismanaged the campaign and was driven back with great 
loss. Cleopatra hastened to console him, and he returned with 
her to Egypt. 

During the next few years, whilst Octavius was ruling 
with ability and moderation in Italy and gaining esteem on 
every hand, Antony seemed to lose no opportunity of alienating 
both Octavius and the Roman people. He loaded Cleopatra 
with benefits, freely giving to her and her children such pro- 
vinces as Phoenicia, Ccele-Syria, Cyprus, Palestine and Arabia. 
A will purporting to be his was published at Rome in which 
he named her sons as his heirs, and it was declared that 
Cleopatra herself aimed at being queen in Rome. When, 
therefore, by divorcing Octavia, Antony exasperated his rival 

32. beyond endurance, the Senate deposed him and declared war 
upon Cleopatra. 

At this time Antony had just returned from an expedition 
to Armenia, and was in Greece with a large force. He was 
therefore better prepared for war than Octavius, and had he 
invaded Italy at once, the event might have been doubtful. 
But he delayed, and Octavius had time to gather his forces. 

31. The winter passed, and in the spring Octavius, ready for the 
fray, crossed with a large army and a powerful fleet. 

Antony and Cleopatra had wintered their ships in the 
Ambraciot Gulf, and Octavius penned them in. Antony's 
officers advised that he should abandon his fleet and depend 
upon his land forces, but he declined, and, breaking out with 
his ships, fought the battle of Actium. Though the ships of 
Octavius were better manned, those of Antony were more 
numerous, and the result was still doubtful, when suddenly 
Cleopatra's galley hoisted sail and made for the open sea 



ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 705 

followed by that of Antony. Notwithstanding this desertion 
the fleet fought well, but was in the end defeated and destroyed, 
whereupon the men on shore, utterly disheartened, laid down 
their arms. 

When Antony and Cleopatra returned to Egypt they still 
contemplated defence. Octavius gave them time to prepare, 
not invading Egypt for twelve months, but when he arrived 
Antony's men deserted to him, and Antony, giving up the 
struggle, fell by his own hand. Cleopatra clung to life, and 
endeavoured to charm Octavius as she had charmed others, 
but she was no longer young, and he was obdurate. When 
therefore she found that, notwithstanding some pretence of 
friendship, he was proposing to carry her to Rome to grace 
his triumph, she killed herself. 

Octavius treated the remains of the unhappy pair with 
respect, and they were laid side by side in the burial place of 
the Ptolemies, of which great line Cleopatra was the last royal 
representative. 

Egypt itself was annexed as a Roman province, and lest 
a rival empire should be built up by its governor, it was 
treated as a private possession and put under an imperial 
prsefect, who was not to be of Senatorial rank. 



45 



CHAPTER XLII. 

AUGUSTUS. 

29. Having settled the affairs of Egypt, Octavius left that country 
and wintered in Samos. Next year he returned to Rome and 
was received with acclamation, triumphing thrice, for Dalmatia, 
Actium and Egypt. He had brought immense spoil from 
Egypt, and he distributed it generously amongst soldiers and 
citizens. 

Octavius had been absent from Rome for two years, but had 
been so well represented by Agrippa and Maecenas that he 
found everything in order, and had no difficulty in resuming 
the task of administration. He was now undisputed master 
of the Roman world, esteemed by the people, and in command 
of an army entirely loyal to himself. It rested with him 
therefore to determine whether he would openly take up an 
autocratic position, or have respect to the institutions by the 
agency of which Rome had for so many centuries been governed. 
Had he decided in favour of the former course few would have 
dared to blame him, nevertheless he would have lost for his 
government that prestige which attaches to ancient institutions 
and makes the task of government more easy. On the other 
hand, it was clear that there must be a radical change. Popu- 
lar government, as it had existed in Rome, was a failure, the 
strong hand was needful, the restoration of the rule of the 
Roman mob could only bring renewed misgovernment and 
anarchy. 

Fortunately for Rome she had now at the head of her 

affairs a man who could see what was best for the state. It 

is impossible to excuse the acts which Octavius sanctioned at 

(706) 



10 




/f.<? 



AUGUSTUS 707 

the beginning of the triumvirate, but from the time when he 
became supreme he proved himself an administrator of the 
highest capacity, and by his wisdom and clemency obliterated 
the memory of earlier misdeeds. 

Although the authority of Octavius gradually became ab- 
solute in Rome, he took care not to offend lovers of republican 
simplicity. This was the more easy for him as he was naturally 
unostentatious in disposition and simple in habits. His house 
was only such as a well-to-do citizen might naturally live in ; 
he did not waste the revenues of the state in personal display ; 
he resented servility, and surrounded himself with well-chosen 
ministers and friends. 

His very first actions showed his desire to utilise existing 
institutions. The Senate had not always deserved his favour, 
but he treated it with respect ; and though he reduced its 
numbers, and probably eliminated hostile elements, he left it 
in possession of its dignity, and his own name headed the 
Senatorial roll. He ruled indeed as first citizen, not as an 
autocrat, and this remained a characteristic of Roman emperors. 
However despotic they may have been, they claimed no divine 
right. The empire was but a development of the republic 
with a princeps appointed for life. Nowadays we say "the 
king never dies," but amongst the Romans it was not so, for 
when one emperor passed away Imperial rule also ended until 
the Senate endowed his successor with the imperium. 

When order had been completely restored Octavius laid 27. 
down the extraordinary powers which had been conferred 
upon him, but received from the Senate a fresh lease of power 
for ten years, a lease which was renewed as often as required. 
Under the new arrangement, Octavius received the title of 
Augustus, by which we shall hereafter speak of him, and 
precedence over all other magistrates and officers of state. 
The provinces were divided into two classes, Imperial and Sena- 
torial, the former being frontier provinces where armies were 
needed ; the latter, peaceful provinces where only civil admin- 
istration was required. The government of the Imperial 



708 EOME 

provinces was placed unreservedly in the hands of Augustus, 
and even in the Senatorial provinces he had a majus vm- 
perium which enabled him, if necessary, to override the 
decisions of the proconsuls. He was also commander-in-chief, 
the soldiers owed allegiance to him, troops were levied in his 
name, he alone could declare war, make peace, or conclude 
treaties. The character of the army was indeed completely 
changed. In early times it had been a militia, and citizens 
were bound to serve when called upon, without payment. More 
recently Roman armies had been largely composed of adven- 
turous spirits who followed the leader of their choice for the 
sake of spoil. Thus there had been at times Roman armies 
in the field making war upon one another, and this had con- 
stituted a grave danger to the state. Augustus changed all 
this, reducing the size of the army, but making it a permanent 
force of regulars enlisted for the defence of the empire. Hence- 
forth the soldiers were enlisted in the name of Augustus and 
received from him wages, gifts and pensions. The legions 
were chiefly stationed in the frontier provinces, and only as 
many soldiers kept in Rome as were necessary for a guard. 

Augustus was careful to carry the approval of the Senate 
with him in all that he did, and as the Senators were largely 
nominated by himself this was not hard. A committee was 
appointed with whom he took counsel, and he informed the 
Senate of his intentions and preferred to govern through their 
decrees rather than by Imperial edict. It came to the same 
thing in the end, but the method pleased the people, gratified 
the Senatorial party, who felt that they still occupied a posi- 
tion of dignity, and lifted a certain amount of responsibility 
from his own shoulders. The Senate was never again what 
it had been when it carried Rome successfully through the 
terrible period of the Hannibalic wars, but it served a useful 
purpose as an advisory body, and remained a valuable inter- 
mediary between prince and people. 

So entirely did Augustus win the confidence of the Romans, 
that they showed no inclination to diminish, but rather in- 



AUGUSTUS 709 

creased his powers. He held the tribunician power, he was 
commander of the forces, and supreme in both the Imperial 
and Senatorial provinces. Later, he became Pontifex Maximus, 12. 
and as such the official head of the state religion. Yet he gave 
the people no offence by undue display of authority. They 
might still meet in their assemblies and choose consuls and 
other magistrates, but only his nominees had any chance of 
election ; and as the discussions had no practical bearing on 
affairs of state, they ceased to interest the people. 

When the imperium was conferred upon Augustus the 
Roman world was in anything but a satisfactory state. There 
had been many years of civil war and a long period of mis- 
government, with robbery and spoliation at home and abroad. 
Augustus began his reforms by instituting in his own provinces 
a census of persons and property. On this sound foundation 
he built up his financial system, abolishing many vexatious 
charges, substituting taxation upon land and personal pro- 
perty, seeing that the Treasury accounts were kept with care, 
and preparing an annual budget. 

The condition of the provinces was greatly ameliorated. 
The old practice of choosing governors by lot and sending 
them abroad for short periods had been productive of much 
misery, the governor rarely sympathising with, or even under- 
standing the people, and only using his term of office to 
enrich himself and his party. Augustus appointed the officials 
in the Imperial provinces ; they remained as long as he desired, 
received fixed salaries, and were responsible to him in all 
things. With the aid of the census a fair apportionment was 
made of the burdens of empire, and each district was respon- 
sible for the payment of a fixed sum. 

The condition of Rome itself had been indescribable. 
It had a population of over a million and was wretchedly 
governed, a large percentage of the people being pauperised 
by the corn bounty. Augustus reduced the bounty, bringing 
it within the limits of a somewhat extravagant system of poor 
relief, established a police force and fire brigade, as well as 



710 EOME 

boards to superintend the distribution of corn, take care of the 
streets, and keep in good order public buildings, aqueducts, 
sewers, and other matters of municipal interest. Over these 
he appointed a praefect, who was responsible to himself, and 
controlled the city in his absence. 

The Italian towns had always been more wholesome than 
the capital and Augustus did them much service, encouraging 
public spirit and carrying farther the system of municipal self- 
government which Julius Caesar had begun. 

Augustus made a brave effort to check the moral depravity 
which abounded in Rome, and which was sapping the energies 
of the state. With this laudable object he passed an extensive 
series of laws — some of which bore his own name, others the 
names of the magistrates who proposed them. 

"Not only marriage, but everything even remotely con- 
nected with it — betrothal, divorce, dower, gifts between 
husband and wife, concubinage, inheritance of legacies," and 
many other matters, were dealt with. Sumptuary laws were 
also passed, and an earnest effort made to improve morals in 
so far as legislation might avail. 

Successful though Augustus had been in his early days in 
the field, he was rather an administrator than a warrior. Some 
of his wars he carried on in person. He attacked the Cantabri, 
27. a warlike Spanish tribe, but did not entirely subdue them. 
His presence in Asia sufficed to induce the Parthian king 
20. Phraates to restore the Roman standards captured at Carrhae 
thirty years before. He paid several visits to Gaul, where he 
spent much time settling the administration of the three pro- 
vinces into which the territory conquered by Caesar was now 
divided. 

Up to this time the frontiers of the Roman empire had not 
been determined with precision. On some sides they were 
plain enough. On the west the Atlantic was practically the 
boundary, though some tribes were unconquered: on the 
south Rome's dominion extended to the African desert, and 
on the east lay the Parthians, with whom the Romans were 



AUGUSTUS 711 

now on friendly terms. But in the north there was difference 
of opinion as to where the line of frontier should be. Where 
the Danube flowed it was accepted as the frontier ; but farther 
north the Rhine was by some deemed unsatisfactory, and an 
attempt was made to extend the Roman dominion to the Elbe. 
Drusus made several campaigns across the Rhine and during 
one of these he died. Tiberius succeeded him, and for a time 
the forward policy seemed likely to succeed. But Rome had 
stretched out her hand too far. Some years later there was a.d. 9 
a great rising in North-West Germany and the Roman army 
led by Varus was annihilated. Augustus was greatly distressed 
at the loss of his legions. A German invasion, and even a 
Roman insurrection were feared, but all passed off quietly, 
and he determined to make the Rhine the frontier, and advised 
his successors not to go beyond. 

Augustus died in the seventy-sixth year of his age, having 
governed as sole ruler for more than forty years. He had 
outlived some who were at one time expected to have succeeded 
him. Though thrice married he had no son, and but one 
daughter. His choice of a successor had fallen upon Marcellus 
the son of his sister Octavia, who was married to his daughter 
Julia, but Marcellus died. Julia then married Agrippa and 
had two sons who were adopted by Augustus, but also died. 
He then adopted Tiberius, his stepson, who was recognised as 
his colleague. He was first invested with the trihunicia potestas 
and a year before the death of Augustus was formally authorised 
to administer the provinces jointly with him. When therefore 
Augustus died, Tiberius obtained the full Imperial power a.d.14 
without opposition. 

We have now carried the history of Rome over a period of 
eight centuries. We have seen the hamlet develop into a 
village, the village into a town, the town into a great city, 
the city into a mighty empire. We have watched also the 
process of political development, the patriarchal community, 
the monarchy, the republic, and now the rule of the one man, 
autocrat in all but name. The scheme of the present work 



712 EOME 

renders it impossible to carry the narrative farther here. 
The Roman empire continued to influence the world, and to be 
of high importance for centuries. It even extended its bound- 
aries in certain directions before it began to decline, and at 
last to fall. But the interesting story of its grandeur and 
decay must be left for another volume. 



INDEX 



Aabon, 201-3, 207, 209, 265. 

Abdi-Melkarth, 291. 

Abdstarte I., 288. 

Abgarus, 677. 

Abiathar, 229. 

Abi-Baal, 286. 

Abijam, 238. 

Abimelech, 217. 

Abner, 223, 226, 229. 

Abraham, 21, 28, 78, 79, 84, 86, 191-95, 

204, 211, 212. 
Absalom, 228, 229. 
Abydos, 29. 
Abyssinia, 5, 25. 
Acanthus, 477. 
Acarnania, 434, 438, 441. 
Accad, 78-80, 82, 83, 87, 192. 
Accho, 277. 
Achaean League, 513, 514, 580, 581, 

600. 
Achasans, 483, 581. 
Achsemenes, 50, 51, 147, 151, 187. 
Achaia, 346, 347, 434, 514. 
Achan, 212. 
Achish, 223. 
Acre, 292. 

Acropolis, 365, 370, 397, 426, 434. 
Actium, 71, 271, 704, 706. 
Adherbal, 612. 
Adonijah, 229, 230. 
Adoni-zedek, 213. 
Adrammelech, 132, 133. 
Adriatic, 325. 
Aduatici, 668. 
Adullam, 223. 
Mdui, 667. 
iEgean, 25, 58, 60, 64, 65, 162, 166, 

172, 186, 281, 282, 296, 344, 347, 

348, 361, 408, 422, 439, 474, 484, 

486, 493, 494, 505, 519, 580, 583, 

632, 633. 
iEgialeus, 399. 
iEgina, 172, 357, 385, 390-92, 397, 

406, 420, 432, 435, 436, 513. 
^gospotami, 460, 462, 463, 468, 471, 

473. 
iEneas, 341, 344, 522. 



Cohans, 347, 361. 

Mqui, 544, 546. 

iEschines, 499. 

^Eschylus, 463. 

.Etolia, 347, 441. 

iEtolian League, 513, 514, 580, 583. 

Afghanistan, 506. 

Afranius, 684. 

Agamemnon, 341, 472. 

Agathocles, 313, 315, 490, 551, 552. 

Agesilaus, 52, 179, 472-74, 479, 485, 492. 

Agis, 456, 461, 472, 512, 513. 

Agrigentum, 311, 312, 487. 

Agrippa, 703, 706, 711. 

Ahab, 119, 239, 241-44, 246, 289. 

Ahasuerus, 168. 

Ahaz, 122, 248, 251, 252. 

Ahaziah, 244-46. 

Ahijah, 233, 235. 

Ahimelech, 223. 

Ahmes, 22. 

— I., 22, 23. 
Ahriman, 147. 

Ai, 23, 27, 212, 214. 

Akaba, Gulf of, 204, 205, 210. 

Akerblad, 10. 

Akhenaten, 23, 26-28, 200. 

Alba Longa, 522, 523. 

Alcibiades, 444-51, 454-59, 462. 

AlcmEeonidse, 365, 369, 370. 

Alesia 672. 

Alexander the Great, 53-56, 80, 103, 
110, 112, 148, 162, 182-87, 204, 
263, 300-2, 309, 314, 344, 499-515, 
550, 579, 584, 587, 588. 

— son of the Great, 510. 

— son of Herod, 272. 

— Jannseus, 268, 269. 

— of Pherffi, 482-84. 

Alexandria, 53-60, 66-70, 181, 269, 
302, 510, 558, 689, 690, 703. 

Algeria, 576. 

Allia, 540, 545. 

Allobroges, 666. 

Alpheus, 346. 

Alps, 321, 322, 330, 520, 544, 564, 568, 
574, 577, 613, 615, 647, 671, 694. 



(713) 



714 



INDEX 



Alyattes, 150. 

Amalekites, 205, 206, 217, 221, 224. 

Amasa, 223, 229. 

Amasis, 47, 48, 97, 156, 376. 

Amatbus, 269. 

Amaziab, 247. 

Ambraciot, 441, 704. 

Ameinias, 399. 

Amenembat I., 17, 18. 

— II., 17, 25. 

— III., 17, 18, 25-27. 

— IV., 17, 26, 27. 
Amenhotep I., 23. 

— II., 23, 25. 

— III., 23, 25, 27, 200. 

— IV., 26, 27, 88, 114, 115. 
America, 11, 194, 605. 
Amestris, 172, 173. 
Ammi-ditana, 87. 
Ammon, 228. 
Ammonites, 217, 219, 228. 
Amon, 29, 37, 254. 
Amon-messu, 31. 
Amorites, 85, 193, 210. 
Amphictyons, 349, 495-99. 
Amphipolis, 445, 446, 494, 587. 
Amphissa, 499. 

Amraphel, 85-87, 193. 

Amyntas, 164, 381. 

Amyrtaeus, 51, 423. 

Amytis, 94, 95, 149. 

Anabasis, 175. 

Anactorium, 446. 

Ancona, 635. 

Ancus Martius, 528. 

Andalusia, 697. 

Andriscus, 600. 

Anglo-Saxons, 362. 

Antalcidas, 475, 476. 

Antigonus, 57, 58, 270, 302, 509, 511. 

— (Maccabaeus), 270. 

Antiocb, 60, 70, 263, 267, 510, 687. 
Antiocbus tbe Great, 63-65, 580-88, 
600. 

— IV. (Epipbanes), 66, 263-66, 601. 

— V. (Eupator), 266. 

— (Asiaticus), 303, 656. 

— (Sidetes), 268. 
Antipas, 274. 

Antipater, 269, 270, 272, 273, 509, 513. 

Antonia, 272. 

Antony, 69-71, 270, 271, 700-5. 

Antyllus, 71. 

Anu, 18, 79. 

Anzan, 152. 

Apennines, 324, 520, 521, 544, 546, 

553, 564, 569, 577, 636, 694. 
Apepi, 198. 
Apbaca, 277. 
Apis, 8, 157. 

Apollo, 344, 349, 366, 375, 391. 
Apollodorus, 466. 



Apollonia, 477, 700. 
Apollonius, 265. 
Appian Way, 675, 681. 
Appius Claudius, 539. 

(Csecus), 552. 

(Consul), 315. 

Apries, 47, 96, 257. 

Apulia, 325, 327, 552, 571, 575, 577 r 

647, 681. 
Aquae Sextise, 615, 666. 
Aquillius, 619. 
Aquitania, 667. 
Arabia, 7, 20, 44, 58, 77, 110, 122, 135, 

138, 162, 245, 257, 281, 282, 287, 

301, 508, 704. 
Aradus, 277, 282, 285, 289. 
Aral, 154. 
Aramaeans, 115, 130. 

Arbela,' 109, 186, 187, 505, 512. 

Arcadia, 353, 481, 482, 484. 

Arcbelaus, 274, 633. 

Arcbidamus, 438, 485. 

Arcbimedes, 491. 

Ardea, 531. 

Areopagus, 364, 367, 373, 413, 416. :ffl 

Arezzo, 324. V3Sfl wy . s ;, | ^lA 

Arginusae, 459, 460, 465. \ -■ ■■■-- :<J.l 

Argos, 347, 351, 353, 391, 408, 413, 

422, 434, 447, 448, 473, 476, 481, 

498, 553. 
Ariminum, 324, 564. 
Ariobarzanes, 187. 
Ariocb, 85, 86, 193. 
Ariovistus, 667, 668. 
Aristagoras, 164, 296, 381-83. 
Aristeides, 385, 391, 398, 404, 407, 408,. 

411, 415. 
Aristobulus, 268, 269, 272. 
Aristopbanes, 444, 463. 
Aristotle, 80, 501. 
Arisu, 33, 34. 
Arka 277. 
Armenia, '77, 110, 119-21, 126, 132, 

133, 160, 282, 302, 469, 631, 649- 

51, 655, 656, 676, 677, 704. 
Arno, 324. 
Arpad, 131. 
Arpinum, 658. 
Arretium, 549, 569, 681. 
Arses, 182. 

Arsinoe, 59, 64, 67, 69, 70. 
Artabazus, 171, 403. 
Artapbernes, 166, 296, 371, 381-83, 

386. 
Artaxata, 651. 
Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus), 50, 51, 

174, 175, 261-63. 

— II. (Mnemon), 51, 52, 175-80, 297, 

298. 

— III. (Ocbus), 52, 180-82, 298. 
Artemisium, 394, 397. 



INDEX 



715 



Arverni, 671. 

Asa, 40, 238, 239, 240, 243. 

Asander, 509. 

Ascalon, 254. 

Asculum, 552, 623. 

Asellio, 625. 

Asenath, 197. 

Ashdod, 45, 127, 140, 216, 286. 

Askelon, 216, 286. 

Assur (city), 109, 112, 114-16, 119, 120, 

283. 
— (god), 110, 115. 
Assur-bani-pal, 42, 44, 80, 92, 112, 118, 

135-40, 147, 148, 254, 291, 292. 
Assur-bel-nisi-su, 88. 
Assur-dain-pal, 119. 
Assur-dan III., 120. 
Assur-etil-ilani, 92, 140, 141, 149. 
Assur-nadin-akhi, 115. 
Assur-nazir-pal, 98, 118, 289, 290. 
Assur-nirari, 111, 120. 
Assur-sum-esir, 114. 
Assur-uballid, 88, 114, 115. 
Assyria, 11, 25, 34, 38, 40, 41, 43-46, 

77, 80-82, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 99, 

105-42, 148-51, 212, 230, 238, 240, 

243, 247-51, 256, 280, 285, 287-94, 

343, 361, 376, 378. 
Assyrian canon, 117, 119, 120, 121. 
Astyages, 100, 151, 154, 259, 376. 
Athaliah, 243, 244, 246. 
Athenio, 619. 
Athens, 51, 163-66, 169-71, 174, 176, 

180, 296, 297, 311, 312, 340-515 

passim, 546, 581, 633. 
Athos, 165, 168, 296, 384, 386, 392. 
Atlantic, 556, 596, 665, 710. 
Atossa, 168. 
Attalus, 580, 582. 

Attica, 166, 170, 340-515 passim, 580. 
Augustus. See Octavius. 
Aulis, 472. 
Arausio, 614. 
Ava, 125, 249. 
Avaris, 20. 
Aventine, 523, 610. 

Baal (King of Tyre), 134, 291, 292. 

Baal-azar, 288. 

Baasha, 238, 240. 

Baba, 198. 

Babylon, 11, 20, 25, 26, 44-48, 60, 73- 
103 passim, 109-15, 123, 126, 127, 
129, 132-35, 138, 140-42, 147-54, 
160, 161, 176, 177, 187, 188, 192, 
193, 212, 230, 249, 253-59, 261, 
280, 281, 285, 287, 291-93, 297, 
301, 302, 343, 376, 378, 496, 506-9. 

BacchiadEe, 357, 358. 

Bactria, 150, 187, 506. 

Bsecula, 329, 574. 



Baghdad, 89. 

Bagoas, 181, 182. 

Balaam, 210. 

Balak, 210. 

Balearic Isles, 281. 

Balkans, 35, 613. 

Baltic, 613. 

Barak, 216. 

Barca, 156, 362. 

Bardes, 50, 156. 

Bashan, 210, 282. 

Bathsheba, 231. 

Batis, 186, 505. 

Bedouin, 12, 14, 17, 23, 29, 135, 199, 

205, 217, 224. 
Behistun, 159, 161. 
Bel, 79, 94, 99, 103, 115. 
Bel-bani, 125. 
Belgse, 668. 
Belgius, 510. 
Bel-kap-kapi, 114. 
Bel-nirari, 111, 115. 
Beloochistan, 507. 
Belshazzar, 101, 102, 153, 154. 
Beneventum, 553. 
Benhadad I., 243. 
— II., 119, 238-40, 243, 244. 
Benjamin, 198, 233. 
Berber, 18, 556. 
Berenice, 10, 58, 64. 
Berosus, 81, 82, 89. 
Berytus, 277. 
Bessus, 506. 
Bethel, 237, 238. 
Bethlehem, 223, 273. 
Beth-shan, 219. 
Beth-yagina, 127. 
Bibraete, 667. 
Bibulus, 678. 
Bint-anat, 201. 
Biscay, Bay of, 669. 
Bithynia, 334, 580, 584, 618, 632 r 

656. 
Black Sea, 177, 281, 348, 362, 404, 458, 

469, 631, 655. 
Bocchoris, 40, 41. 
Bocchus, 613. 
Bceotia, 183, 300, 371, 402, 403, 419, 

421-24, 445, 446, 472, 473, 479, 

480, 499, 502, 514. 
Boii, 549, 564. 
Bokhara, 506. 
Bonn, 669. 
Bononia, 701. 

Bosphorus, 163, 380, 381, 458, 499. 
Botrys, 277. 
Boulogne, 670. 
Brasidas, 445, 446. 
Brennus, 510, 545. 

Brindisi, 588, 635, 663, 682, 686, 703. 
Britain, 361, 670. 
British Museum, 85, 115. 



716 



INDEX 



Bruttium, 327, 331, 552, 567, 575, 577, 

647. 
Brutus, 699, 702. 
Bubastis, 19, 39, 40. 
Burna-buryas, 88. 
Buz, 135. 
Byblus, 185, 277. 
Byzantium, 362, 406, 468, 469, 499, 

501, 580. 



Cabira, 650. 

Cabul, 506. 

Cadusians, 180. 

Ceepio, 614. 

Caere 531. 

Caesar, Julius, 67-70, 269, 617, 645, 650, 

652, 658-703, 710. 
Caesarea, 271, 274. 
Caesarion, 69, 71. 
Cairo, 5, 6, 12. 

Calab, 109, 112, 115, 118, 119. 
Calauria, 513. 
Caleb, 208, 215. 
Callas, 183. 
Callias, 423. 
Callicratidas, 459, 460. 
Callimaclius, 388. 
Callipus, 488. 
Callisthenes, 80. 
Calvinus, 690. 
Camarina, 312. 
Cambyses, 48-50, 102, 151, 154, 157- 

60, 167, 260, 295, 296, 309, 378. 
Cameroons, 310. 
Campania, 315, 325, 327, 521, 544, 551, 

552, 558, 571, 573, 577, 626, 628, 

681, 691. 
Campus Martius, 700. 
Canaan, 7, 22, 29, 38, 190-274 passim, 

277, 284-86, 519, 555. 
Candahar, 506, 507. 
Cannae, 283, 326-29, 570, 573, 614. 
Canopus, 61. 
Cantabri, 710. 
Canuleius, 539. 
Cape of Good Hope, 293. 
Capitol, 522, 545. 
Capitoline, 523, 529. 
Cappadocia, 119, 133, 135, 152, 268, 377, 

509, 631. 
Capua, 325, 327, 328, 330, 571-74, 636, 

647. 
Carbo, 636. 
Carchemish, 28, 46, 93-95, 126, 142. 

150, 254, 256, 293. 
Caria, 509. 
Carmel, 46, 277. 
Carrhae, 677, 678, 710. 
Cartagena, 329, 574. 
Carthage, 49, 64, 66, 156, 279, 281, 288, 

289, 294, 296, 301, 305-37, 361, 



391, 486, 487, 489-91, 508, 511, 
514, 519-21, 543, 544, 546, 551- 
77, 579, 580, 590, 596-99, 601, 605, 
609, 610. 

Casdim, 89. 

Caspian, 100, 129, 147, 156, 180, 187, 
506. 

Cassiterides, 281. 

Cassius, 70, 678, 702. 

Cassivellaunus, 670. 

Catania, 308, 361, 487. 

Catilina, 660, 661. 

Cato, Marcus Porcius, 334, 565, 598. 

— M., 662, 664, 675, 686, 690, 691. 
Catulus, 615, 645, 666. 
Caucasus, 135, 141, 149, 345, 655. 
Caudine Porks, 548. 

Celts, 321-26, 331, 510, 511, 520, 544- 

49, 564, 567-70, 577, 581, 665, 670. 
Cenomanni, 577. 
Censorinus, 335. 
Chaeronea, 499, 501, 633. 
Cbalcedon, 650. 
Chalcidice, 362, 408, 445, 446, 477, 496, 

497. 
Chalcis, 447. 
Chaldaea, 79, 89-91, 103. 
Champollion, 11. 
Charidemus, 502. 
Chedorlaomer, 85, 86, 193. 
Cheops, 13. 
Chersonesus, 163, 380, 381, 385, 404, 

409, 462. 
Chilmad, 283. 

Chios, 348, 383, 422, 454, 455. 
Chushan-risha-thaim, 215. 
Cicero, 308, 485, 652, 654, 658-61, 664, 

674, 675, 686, 695, 701, 702. 
Cilicia, 60, 70, 97, 177, 471, 509, 619, 

631, 647, 648, 656, 687, 703. 
Cimbri, 614, 615, 659, 666. 
Cimmerians, 135, 141, 149. 
Cimon, 174, 297, 407, 411-16, 422, 423. 

Cinna,' 627-30, 635, 641, 645, 659. 

Circeii, 703. 

Circus, 529. 

Cirrha, 366. 

Cirta, 612. 

Claudius, Nero, 329, 330. 

Clazomenae, 475. 

Clearchus, 177, 468. 

Cleisthenes, 357, 370-74, 380, 385, 415, 

463. 
Cleombrotus, 478, 480, 481. 
Cleomenes, 54, 55, 369-71, 385, 513. 
Cleon, 442-46, 605. 
Cleonae, 347. 
Cleopatra (daughter of Antiochus), 65, 

66, 582. 

— (wife of Philip), 500. 

— (the great), 67-71, 510, 688-90, 703-5. 



INDEX 



717 



Glitus, 507. 

Clodius, 673-75. 

Olupea, 317. 

Clusium, 545, 548, 564. 

Cnidus, 179, 268, 297, 473. 

Ccele-Syria, 60, 63-65, 266, 580, 704. 

Coelian, 523. 

Collina, 531. 

Colossus, 26, 61. 

Gomitia, 530, 533, 538, 541, 595. 

Gonon, 459, 460, 473-75. 

Constantinople, 695. 

Corcyra, 358, 430-34, 437, 450. 

Corfinium, 624, 682. 

Corinth, 66, 183, 313, 340-515 passim, 

579, 600, 601. 
Corinthian Gulf, 347, 357, 421, 438, 

445, 473, 514. 
Cornelia, 605. 
Corcebus, 346. 
Coronea, 470, 473. 
Corsica, 311, 487, 562, 585. 
Cos, 268, 347, 361. 
Cotta, 650. 
Crassus, 621, 647, 652, 653, 659, 660, 

663, 664, 671, 674, 676-78. 
Craterus, 509, 511. 
Cremona, 564, 666. 
Crete, 216, 268, 345, 347, 647, 648, 

656. 
Crimea, 655. 
Crimesus, 313, 489. 
Crissa, 366. 
Critias, 461, 462, 465. 
Crito, 466. 
Critobulus, 466. 
Crixus, 647. 

Croesus, 48, 100, 152, 162, 375-77. 
Crusades, 303. 
Crypteia, 353. 
Cumas, 361. 

Cunaxa, 177, 297, 469, 471. 
Curicta, 685. 
Curio, 685, 690. 
Cush, 7, 18, 291. 
Cuthah, 80, 82, 125, 249. 
Cyaxares, 45, 46, 93-96, 140-42, 149-52, 

256, 292, 376. 
Cyclades, 412. 
Cydonia, 648. 
Cylon, 364. 
Cynoscephalee, 65, 483, 511, 514, 581, 

582, 687. 
Cyprus, 25, 48, 57, 58, 110, 156, 168, 

174, 180, 181, 268, 281, 282, 289, 

291, 297, 307, 378, 382, 383, 392, 

412, 460, 475, 505, 664, 687, 704. 
Cypselus, 358. 

Cyrene, 57-59, 66, 156, 174, 268, 362. 
Cyrus the Great, 48-50, 100-2, 151-56, 

158-60, 162, 167, 168, 175, 249, 

259, 260, 295, 376-78, 405. 



Cyrus, son of Parysatis, 175-77, 297, 

459, 460, 468, 469. 
Cythera, 445, 446. 
Cyzicus, 362, 458, 486, 650. 

Dadkaba, 14. 

Dahshur, 17. 

Dalmatia, 706. 

Damascus, 119, 120, 122, 228, 238, 243 

245-48, 251, 282, 290, 505. 
Dan, 217. 
Danaoi, 346. 

Daniel, 96-98, 101, 257-59. 
Danube, 163, 164, 380, 385, 387, 711. 
Dardanus, 634. 
Darius Hystaspis, 50, 101, 102, 158-68, 

260, 296, 378-90, 405, 631. 

— Nothus, 51, 175, 176, 180, 298, 459, 

468. 

— Codomannus, 110, 182-87, 296, 300, 

301, 502-6, 512. 
Datis, 296, 386. 
David, 34, 38, 89, 116, 131, 213, 216, 

222-36, 286-88. 
Dead Sea, 193, 194, 209. 
Deborah, 216, 489. 
Decelea, 454, 456, 458. 
Dedan, 282. 
Deioces, 148. 

Delian League, 426, 430, 431, 445. 
Delium, 445. 
Delos, 268, 344, 345, 407-10, 412, 419, 

467, 588, 618. 
Delphi, 152, 344, 350, 365, 366, 369, 

377, 495, 497, 499, 510. 
Delta, 1-71 passim, 180, 193, 198, 199, 

362, 423, 690. 
Demarchus, 372. 
Demetrius, 57, 266, 267. 
Demosthenes (general), 441-45, 452, 

453, 486. 

— (orator), 496-99, 502, 512, 513. 
Dercyllidas, 179, 472. 

Dion, 488. 

Dionysius I., 312, 313, 487, 488. 

— II., 488, 489. 
Dneiper River, 631. 
Docris, 407. 
Dongola, 18. 

Dor, 277, 286. 

Dorians, 346, 351, 357, 361. 

Doris (wife of Herod), 272. 

— (city), 579. 
Doriscus, 392. 
Draco, 365. 
Drangina, 506. 

Drepanum, 317, 318, 487, 561. 
Druids, 665. 

Dungi, 84. 
Dur, 82. 

Dur-Sargina, 84. 
Dyrrachium, 686. 



718 



INDEX 



Ea, 79. 

E-ana-gin, 83, 

Ebal, 214. 

Ebro, 320, 321, 329, 565-68, 574. 

Eburones, 670, 671. 

Ecbatana, 99, 151, 160, 187, 188, 506. 

Ecclesia, 367, 372-74, 413, 456, 461. 

Ecclesiastes, 234. 

Ecdippa, 277. 

Ecomus, 316. 

Eden, 283. 

Edfu, 61. 

Edom, 120, 122, 196, 204, 209, 244, 

245, 247, 287. 
Egesta, 311, 449, 451, 486. 
Eglon, 216. 

Egypt, 1-71, 78, 84, 88, 92, 94, 97, 102, 
110, 112, 114, 121, 126, 127, 129, 
134-42, 147, 149, 150, 152, 154, 156- 
58, 160, 167, 168, 174, 180, 181, 
185-87, 191-93, 197-204, 206, 207, 
209, 214, 216, 230, 234, 236, 239, 
240, 249, 251-55, 257, 258, 263, 264, 
271, 280-82, 284, 286, 287, 291-96, 
298-300, 309, 343, 362, 376, 378, 
390, 392 , 420, 423, 436, 485, 504-6, 
509, 510, 579, 580, 582, 588, 590, 
633, 676, 688-90, 692, 703-6. 
Ehud, 216. 
Eion, 412. 

Ekron, 130, 216, 222, 252, 286. 
Elah, 222, 238. 

Elam, 20, 44, 77, 78, 83, 87, 91, 92, 94, 
100, 110, 126, 127, 132, 133, 138, 
147, 148, 151, 152, 159, 160, 167, 
192, 193, 259, 291-94, 376, 389, 
395. 
Elasa, 267. 
Elateia, 499. 
Elbe, 711. 
El Dorado, 450. 
Eleazer, 265. 
Elephantine, 14, 15, 39. 
Eleusis, 344, 424. 
Eli, 116, 218. 
Elijah, 242, 244, 251, 279. 
Elis, 346, 446, 447, 484, 498. 
Elisha, 243, 244, 247, 251. 
Elissa, 289, 307. 
Elkab, 198. 
El-Khalil, 195. 
Ellasar, 85. 
Eltekeh, 41, 130, 252. 
Elulseus, 290, 291. 
Emporise, 320, 566. 
Endor, 223. 
Enegiddo, 149. 
Enna, 605. 
Ennus, 605. 

Epaminondas, 353, 478-85, 492-94. 
Ephesus, 165, 348, 361, 382, 583. 
Ephialtes, 413, 414, 416, 502. 



Ephraim, 218. 

Ephron, 28. 

Epidamnus, 430. 

Epirus, 314, 347, 358, 362, 490, 510, 

550, 579, 581, 588, 633. 
Eratosthenes, 60. 
Ercte, 561. 
Erech, 80-84, 109. 
Erectheum, 417. 

Eretria, 164-66, 382, 384, 386, 389. 
Eri-Aku, 85, 192, 193. 
Esarhaddon, 41, 42, 92, 132-37, 139, 

141, 148, 253, 291, 361. 
Esau, 196, 209. 
Eschol, 193. 
Esdraleon, 46. 
Esh-Baal (Ishbosheth), 226. 
Esquilina, 523, 531. 
Esther, 161, 168, 172, 261. 
Etham, 203. 

Ethbaal, 239, 241, 242, 289. 
Ethiopia, 7, 40, 42, 43, 49, 50, 52, 137, 

156, 157, 181, 508. 
Etna, 488. 
Etruria, 311, 325, 361, 487, 520-24, 528- 

33, 540-49, 551, 556, 564, 575, 623, 

629, 636, 641, 645, 694, 702. 
Euboea, 166, 371, 386, 394, 424, 454, 

457, 458, 460, 579. 
Euclid, 57. 
Euergetes, 55, 59, 66. 
Eumenes, 509, 588. 
Eupatridse, 364. 
Euphrates, 24, 28, 38, 46, 60, 77, 89, 

94, 95, 109, 116-19, 184, 186, 210, 

215, 228, 302, 504, 505, 655, 676. 

703. 
Euripides, 463. 
Eurybiades, 392, 398. 
Eurydice, 510. 
Eurymedon, 297, 412. 
Euxenus, 473. 
Evagoras, 180, 297. 
Evil-Merodach, 99, 257. 
Exodus, 27, 32, 38, 88, 200, 203, 212, 

214, 215. 
Ezekiel, 112, 258, 282. 
Ezra, 175, 261-63, 295. 

Fabius, 326, 569. 

Fsesula, 564, 660. 

Pair Cape, 312, 557. 

Fayum, 18, 59. 

Fimbria, 634, 650, 651. 

Flaccus, 607, 608, 630, 634. 

Flamininus, 581, 582. 

Flaminius, 324, 325, 569. 

Florentia, 666. 

Forum, 529, 616. 

France, 321, 322, 362, 525, 556, 665, 667, 

680. 
Fregellse, 608. 



INDEX 



719 



Frentani, 521. 
Fulvia, 702, 703. 

Gabala, 277. 

Gabinus, 67, 269, 653, 676. 

Gad, 210. 

Gadara, 269. 

Gades, 281, 307, 331, 361, 575. 

Galatia, 511, 584. 

Galba, 596, 668. 

Galepsus, 446. 

Galicia, 281. 

Galilee, 270, 274, 288. 

Gath, 216, 247, 286. 

Gaugamela, 186. 

Gaul, 312, 322, 362, 508, 522, 540, 570, 
574, 575, 614-16, 646, 665-73, 676, 
678, 684, 692-94, 697, 698, 710. 

Gaza, 41, 47, 63, 126, 140, 186, 216, 
286, 505. 

Gedaliah, 47, 96, 257. 

Gela, 308, 361. 

Gelo, 311, 312, 391, 486, 556. 

Genesis, 28, 80, 191, 193-95, 285. 

Geneva, 667. 

Genoa, 331, 575. 

Genucius, 537, 538. 

Gergovia, 671. 

Gerizim, 214, 262. 

Germany, 666, 667, 670, 711. 

Gibeonites, 212, 213. 

Gibraltar, 46, 281, 293, 319, 519. 

Gideon, 217. 

Gilboa, 219, 223, 224. 

Gilead, 239. 

Gilgal, 212. 

Gisco, 313. 

Gizeb, 12, 13. 

Glabrio, 583, 653, 654. 

Glaucia, 616. 

Gobryas, 153. 

Goliath, 222. 

Gomates, 50, 102, 158. 

Gomorrah, 86, 695. 

Gorgias, 266. 

Goshen, 21, 23, 31, 198. 

Gozan, 125, 249. 

Gracchus Gaius, 608-11, 640. 

Gracchus Tiberius, 578, 605-7, 610. 

Granicus, 53, 184, 187, 300, 503, 504, 
507. 

Greece, 43-48, 50, 52, 57, 60, 64, 66, 
103, 123, 152, 156, 162-79, 183, 185, 
260, 265, 277, 280, 281, 288, 294, 
296, 297, 300, 302, 308, 311, 339- 
515, 519, 521, 525, 543, 544, 552, 
553, 556, 560, 563, 580, 581, 583, 
588, 600, 601, 627, 628, 632-35, 
702-4. 

Guadalquivir, 282, 329. 

Gudea, 85. 

Gulussa, 611. 



Gyges, 44, 137, 141. 
Gylippus, 451, 453. 

Haboe, 125, 249. 

Hadad, 234, 242. 

Hadassah, 172. 

Hadrametum, 332. 

Halah, 125, 249. 

Halicarnassus, 504. 

Halycus, 312, 313. 

Halys, 150, 376, 377, 584. 

Ham, 7. 

Haman, 172, 261. 

Hamath, 119, 125, 126, 131, 249, 290. 

Hamilcar, 311, 312. 

— Barca, 317-20, 333, 561, 565. 
Hammamat, 16. 
Hani-rabbat, 115. 
Hannibal, 63, 312. 

— the Great, 320-34, 511, 514, 547, 

557, 565-85, 597, 631. 
Hanno, 310. 
Hanun, 41, 126. 
Harpagus, 153. 

Harran, 100, 151, 192, 196, 283. 
Hasdrubal, 319-21, 328-33, 565, 566, 

570, 573-76. 
Hasmon, 265. 
Hatshepsut, 23, 24. 
Hazael, 119, 243-47. 
Hazor, 216. 
Hebrews, 21, 23, 25, 29, 31, 32, 38, 39, 

110, 111, 190-274, 277, 280, 287, 

290. 
Hebron, 193, 226. 
Helbon, 282. 
Helifea, 373. 
Heliopolis, 8, 26, 37. 
Hellas, 347, 348. 
Hellenes, 346. 
Hellespont, 60, 168, 169, 171, 183, 184, 

196, 300, 384, 392, 399, 400, 404, 

458-60, 472, 499, 502, 503, 509, 

543, 580, 582, 584, 634. 
Helots, 352, 353, 407, 413, 445, 482. 
Helvetii, 614, 615, 667. 
Hephsestion, 54. 
Heraclea, 551, 552. 
Heracleopolis, 15, 16, 39. 
Herat, 506. 
Her-Hor, 37. 
Herkhuf, 15. 
Hermse, 451. 
Hermonthis, 8. 
Hernicans, 546. 
Herod, 70, 270-74, 278. 
Herodotus, 3, 15, 49, 51, 157, 417. 
Hezekiah, 41, 90, 126, 129, 130, 251-53. 
Hiempsal, 612. 
Hierapolis, 676. 
Hiero, 315, 316, 329, 490, 544, 558, 559, 

573. 



720 



INDEX 



Hieronymus, 329, 495, 571, 573. 

Himera, 308, 311, 312, 486, 544, 556. 

Himilco, 312. 

Hipparchus, 57, 368. 

Hipparinus, 488. 

Hippeis, 366, 367. 

Hippias, 166, 368-70, 385, 386. 

Hippocrates, 445. 

Hiram, 231, 232, 286-88. 

Hirpini, 521. 

Histseus, 164, 380-82. 

Hittites, 28-30, 34, 116, 118, 120, 195, 

289. 
Homer, 285, 341, 346, 361, 363. 
Hophra, 47, 97, 257. 
Horatio, 532. 
Horeb, 242. 
Horemheb, 23, 27, 28. 
Horonite, 262. 
Hoshea, 124, 148, 149. 
Hudson, 523. 
Huz, 135. 

Hyksos, 6, 19, 20-24, 193, 197-200. 
Hyrcanus, 269. 

Idum^ia, 268. 

Ilerda, 684. 

Iliad, 341, 342, 345, 349. 

Ilium, 344. 

Illyria, 183, 300, 493, 496, 501, 502, 

563, 586, 588. 
Illyricum, 666. 
Imbros, 475. 

Inarus, 50, 51, 174, 420, 423. 
India, 112, 153, 161, 162, 233, 378, 

507, 676. 
Indian Ocean, 147, 507, 556. 
Indus, 154, 162, 301, 507. 
Inexpiable war, 564. 
Insubres, 577. 
Ionians, 346, 361. 
Ipbicrates, 51, 52, 180, 298, 474. 
Ipsus, 58. 
Iran, 147. 
Isaac, 194-96. 
Isagoras, 370, 371. 
Isaiah, 127, 131, 251-53, 259. 
Isbmael, 257. 
Ismailia, 21, 98. 
Isme-Dagon, 85, 114. 
Israel, 6, 32, 40, 41, 118-22, 190-274 

passim, 282, 288, 289. 
Issus, 53, 184-87, 300, 301, 504, 506, 512. 
Istar, 115, 172. 

Isthmian Games, 350, 563, 581. 
Italy, 308, 314, 316, 318, 320-31, 341, 

348, 361, 398, 450, 451, 487, 516- 

712 passim. 
Ithome, 413, 482. 

Jabesh Gidead, 219, 221. 
Jabin, 216. 



Jacob, 196, 199, 209. 

Janiculum, 539. 

Jashar, 213. 

Javan, 282. 

Jaxartes, 154, 507. 

Jebusites, 227. 

Jehoahaz, 46, 246, 247, 248, 255.. 

Jehoash, 247. 

Jehoiachin, 96, 99, 256, 257. 

Jehoiada, 246. 

Jehoiakim, 46, 95, 255-57. 

Jehoram, 243-45. 

Jehoshaphat, 119, 239, 242-47. 

Jehu, 119, 239, 242, 245, 246, 247. 

Jelum, 507. 

Jephthah, 217. 

Jeremiah, 254-58. 

Jericho, 210, 212, 269, 273. 

Jeroboam I., 39, 233-39. 

— II., 247, 248. 

Jerusalem, 40, 41, 46, 47, 63, 70, 96,. 
130, 131, 154, 158, 172, 175, 186, 
190-274 passim, 278, 287, 301, 378, 
656, 676. 

Jeshua, 259. 

Jesse, 222, 236. 

Jethro, 201, 205. 

Jews, 47, 57, 59, 66, 96, 102, 154, 158, 
160, 172, 173, 175, 186, 190-274 
passim, 295, 378, 505, 510, 601, 
656, 690. 

Jezebel, 239-46, 279, 289. 

Jezreel, 245. 

Joab, 226, 228, 229, 234. 

Joash, 246, 247. 

Johanan, 265. 

John Hyrcanus, 268. 

Jonah, 122, 123, 247. 

Jonathan, 221-26. 

— (Maccabseus), 265, 267. 
Joppa, 267, 277, 295. 
Joram, 244, 245. 

Jordan, 32, 193, 210-13, 226, 228, 247,. 

248, 582. 
Joseph, 21, 191, 196, 197, 200. 
Josephus, 57, 127, 231. 
Joshua, 205, 208-15, 285, 
Josiah, 46, 95, 142, 239, 254, 255, 

257. 
Jotham, 247. 
Juba, 71, 690. 
Judsea, 40, 41, 46, 47, 90, 118, 122, 126, 

129, 130, 131, 142, 175, 190-274 

passim, 282, 288, 291, 703. 
Judas (Maccabseus), 265-67. 
Judges, 38, 215. 
Jugurtha, 611, 613. 
Julia, 711. 
Junonia, 609. 
Jupiter, 53, 54, 186, 505. 
Jura, 667. 
Juventius, 600. 



INDEX 



721 



Kadesh, 28, 30. 

Kadesb-Barnea, 208. 

Kalda, 89. 

Kandalanu, 138. 

Kara-indas, 88. 

Karkar, 119, 243. 

Karnak, 29, 30, 40, 237. 

Karrak, 82, 85. 

Khabbash, 50. 

Khabour, 109. 

Kbafra, 12-14. 

Kbalule, 91, 132. 

Kbammurabi, 82, 85-87, 192, 193. 

Khartoum, 5. 

Khipa, 88. 

Khorsabad, 127. 

Khufu, 12, 13. 

Kirjath-jearim, 218-27. 

Kis, 82. 

Koptos, 16. 

Kudur-Lagamar, 85, 192, 193. 

Kudur-Mabug, 85. 

Kurds, 115, 126. 

Kuri-galzu III., 88. 

Laban, 196. 
Labasi-Merodach, 99. 
Labienus, 683, 692, 697. 
Lachish, 130, 213, 214, 252. 
Laconia, 351-53, 413, 419, 445, 

482. 
Lade, 383. 
Lagas, 78, 82-84. 
Lailie, 135. 
Lamachus, 450, 451. 
Lampsachus, 460. 
Laodicea, 277, 704. 
Laomedon, 263, 302, 509. 
Larissa, 361. 

Larsa, 80, 82-85, .192, 193. 
Lars Porsena, 532. 
Latins, 324, 341, 516-712 passim. 
Latium, 487, 516-712 passim. 
Layard, 11. 
Leah, 196. 
Lebanon, 28, 29, 85, 118, 233, 

282, 285, 295, 361. 
Lechseum, 474. 
Leman, 667. 
Lemnos, 475. 
Leon, 465. 
Leonatus, 509. 
Leonidas, 169, 392-97, 405. 
Leontiades, 477. 
Leontini, 308, 361, 487. 
Lepidus, 645,'651, 652, 661, 700-03 
Lesbos, 361, 422, 439, 440, 454, 

687. 
Leucas, 441. 
Leucopatra, 601. 
Leuctra, 480, 483, 495. 
Levant, 60, 277, 287. 



479, 



277, 



455, 



Levi, 208. 

Levites, 175, 208, 261. 

Lex Canuleia, 539. 

— Gabinia, 658. 

— Hortensia, 541, 591. 

— Julia, 624. 

— Licinia, 606. 

— Manilia, 659. 

— Publilia, 538, 541. 

— Sulpicise, 625, 626. 

— Valerio-Horatian, 539. 
Libit-Istar, 85. 

Libya, 7, 16, 17, 31, 35, 39, 51, 53, 309, 

565. 
Licinius Stolo, 540, 541. 
Ligurians, 576. 
Lilybseum, 313, 317, 318, 487, 489, 

553, 561. 
Livius, 330. 
Livy, 322, 331. 
Lixos, 281. 
Locri, 361, 521, 573. 
Locris, 393, 424, 472, 514, 579. 
Loire, 669. 

Lombardy, 520, 528, 544. 
London, 25, 523, 695. 
Longinus, 614. 
Lot, 191-94. 
Louvre, 85. 
Lubim, 43. 
Luca, 671, 676. 

Lucania, 327, 549, 550, 552, 577, 641. 
Luceres, 524. 
Luceria, 681, 682. 
Lucius, 702. 

Lucullus, 596, 633, 650-56, 663. 
Lusitania, 596, 646. 
Lycia, 268, 412, 509. 
Lycurgus, 351, 352. 
Lydda, 265. 
Lydia, 44, 48, 92, 96, 100, 110, 137, 

141, 150, 152, 154, 162, 165, 176, 

375-77, 382, 468, 509. 
Lysander, 459-62, 471-73. 
Lysias, 266, 267. 
Lysimachus, 509. 

Maachah, 239. 

Maccabees, 268, 270, 271, 602. 

Macedonia, 50, 55, 163-66, 169, 183, 
189, 296, 300, 340-515 passim, 
573, 579-81, 584-90, 600, 613, 632, 
634, 682, 685. 

Machpelah, 28, 195. 

Maecenas, 706. 

Magan, 84. 

Magas, 58, 59. 

Magian, 102, 147, 158, 159. 

Magna Graecia, 361, 450, 521. 

Magnesia, 409, 584. 

Mago, 307, 331, 574-76. 

Maharbal, 327. 



46 






722 



INDEX 



Mamertines, 315, 490, 558. 

Mamilius, 532. 

Mamre, 193. 

Manasseh, 41, 134, 217, 253, 262. 

Mancinus, 335, 599. 

Manda, 99, 100, 151, 152, 376. 

Manetho, 9, 10, 57, 59. 

Manilius Consul, 334. 

— Tribune, 654. 

Mantinea, 447, 448, 476, 481, 484. 
Marathon, 50, 163-66, 296, 380, 384, 

386-91, 395, 417, 463. 
Marathus, 277. 
Marcellus, 491, 573, 596. 

— son of Octavia, 711. 
Marcian Aqueduct, 642. 
Mardouius, 165-68, 171, 172, 296, 384, 

393, 400-3. 
Mariamne, 271, 272. 
Marina, 119. 
Marius, 612-19, 623, 626, 629, 630, 639, 

645, 658, 659, 666, 683. 

— son of, 636. 

Marseilles, 311, 321, 362, 568, 665, 666, 

684, 685. 
Marsi, 521. 
Massinissa, 329, 331, 332, 334, 576, 577, 

597, 598, 611, 612. 
Mastanabal, 611. 
Mattathias, 265. 
Mauretania, 71. 
Mazares, 153. 
Medes, 44, 60, 92, 93, 94, 96, 99, 102, 

110, 125, 126, 129, 140-88 passim, 

249, 254, 256, 259, 292, 376, 395, 

509. 
Medum, 12. 
Megabates, 381. 

Megabazus, 51, 164, 174, 175, 380. 
Megades, 365. 
Megalopolis, 481. 
Megara, 336, 358, 365, 397, 419-24, 431, 

432, 435, 445, 446. 
Megiddo, 24, 46, 95, 255. 
Melchizedek, 193, 194. 
Melkarth, 279, 287, 301, 307, 309. 
Melos, 448. 
Memmius, 616. 

Memnon, 26, 183, 184, 503, 504. 
Memphis, 8, 14, 15, 17, 31, 37, 39, 40, 

42, 48, 51-53, 136, 181, 423. 
Menahem, 121, 248. 
Menander, 509. 
Mende, 446. 
Menkara, 12, 13. 
Mentor, 181-83, 298. 
Merenptah, 28, 31, 32, 35, 201, 203. 
Merenra, 15. 
Merib-Baal, 226. 
Merodach, 79, 100, 151. 
Merodach-baladan, 89-91, 93, 126, 127, 

129, 132, 133, 252. 



Merodach-zakir-sumi, 129. 

Merom, 213. 

Meshech, 116, 282. 

Mesopotamia, 7, 24, 33, 60, 677. 

Messene, 482, 498. 

Messenia, 353, 413, 419, 434, 441, 442, 

482, 484. 
Messina, 315, 316, 490, 551, 558, 559, 

588. 
Metaurus, 330. 
Metellus Quintus, 600. 

— Nepos, 662. 

— Scipio, 690, 691. 
Methone, 495. 
Metten I., 289. 
Micipsa, 611. 

Midian, 201, 204, 205, 210, 217. 

Milcab, 192. 

Miletus, 152, 164, 165, 296, 348, 361, 

377, 380, 381, 383, 403, 455, 504. 
Millo, 247, 263, 266, 288. 
Milo, 551, 553, 675. 
Miltiades, 163, 164, 166, 380, 381, 385, 

387-89, 411. 
Mindarus, 458. 
Minotaur, 345. 
Minu, 8. 
Minucius, 326. 
Miriam, 209. 
Mithridates the Great, 602, 619, 625, 

626, 631-34, 637, 648-51, 653, 655, 

690. 

— of Pergamus, 690. 
Mizpah, 95, 218, 219. 
Mizraim, 7. 

Moab, 210, 216, 228, 239, 243, 244. 

Modin, 265. 

Moeris, 18. 

Moloch, 279, 287, 301, 307, 309. 

Montu, 8. 

Mordecai, 172, 261. 

Moriah, 231. 

Moses, 29, 30, 191, 196, 201-10, 213, 230. 

Mugheir, 84, 192. 

Mulhausen, 668. 

Mummius, 514, 600, 601. 

Munda, 697. 

Musezib-Merodach, 132. 

Muthul, 612. 

Mycale, 172, 403, 404, 406. 

Mycense, 346, 351. 

Mylte, 316, 559. 

Myndus, 268. 

Myonnesus, 584. 

Mytilene, 439, 440, 444, 459. 

Naaman, 244. 
Nabis, 580, 581. 
Nabonassar, 90. 

Nabonidos, 99-102, 151-54, 376, 378. 
Nabopolassar, 45-47, 142, 149, 150, 
254-56. 



INDEX 



723 



Naboth, 243. 

Nabu-bel-zikri, 92. 

Nadab, 238. 

Nagitu, 91. 

Naharaim, 215. 

Nahor, 192, 196. 

Nabum, 42, 137. 

Nairi, 116. 

Napata, 40, 42. 

Naples, 361. 

Napoleon, 204, 481. 

Naram-Sin, 84, 192. 

Narbo, 666. 

Natban, 227. 

Naucratis, 48, 362. 

Naupactus, 438. 

Naxos, 164, 166, 308, 361, 381, 382, 

386, 412, 419, 430, 487. 
Nazi-bugas, 88. 
Neapolis, 521. 
Nearcbus, 301, 507. 
Nebucbadrezzar, 46, 47, 79, 80, 83, 

84, 87, 94-98, 142, 149, 150, 160, 

256-58, 293, 294. 
Necbo I., 42, 44, 93-95, 136. 

— II., 45-47, 142, 149, 150, 254-56. 
Nectanebo I., 51, 52, 181, 298. 

— II., 52, 485. 
Nefert, 12. 

Nebemiab, 175, 262, 263. 
Nemean Games, 350. 
Nepberites, 51. 
Nergal-sbarezer, 99. 
Nergal-yusezib, 132. 
Nero, 574, 576. 

Nerva, 618. 
Nervii, 668, 670. 
New Orleans, 694. 

— York, 25, 523. 
Nicanor, 263. 
Nicias, 444-53, 486. 
Nicomedes, 632. 
Nicopolis, 655. 

Nile, 1-71 passim, 137, 180, 192, 

421. 
Nilometer, 18. 
Nineveh, 42, 45, 46, 80, 91, 93, 94, 105- 

42 passim, 149, 151, 186, 247-49, 

251, 253, 256, 281, 292, 293, 376. 
Nippur, 80, 82, 84, 132. 
Nissea, 445, 446. 
Nisrocb, 132. 
Nitocris, 15. 
No-Amon, 42, 137. 
Nola, 628. 
Norbanus, 636. 
Noreia, 614. 
Numantia, 297. 
Numa Pompilius, 528. 
Numidia, 317, 319, 332, 564, 565, 567, 

613, 690, 692. 
Nysseus, 489. 



Oasis of Amon, 49, 156, 157. 

Obadiab, 242. 

Octavia, 70, 71, 703, 704. 

Octavius, 70, 71, 271, 672, 700-12. 

— Gnaeus, 627-29. 

Odeon, 417. 

Odessa, 362. 

Odyssey, 341, 342, 345. 

Ofella, 641. 

Olympiad, 346. 

Olympias, 500, 510. 

Olympic Games, 47, 346, 350, 357, 484, 

487, 492. 
Olyntbus, 477, 494, 496, 497. 
Omri, 119, 238, 239, 249. 
Onomarchus, 495. 
Opbir, 287. 
Opimius, 610. 
Opis, 508. 
Orchomenus, 633. 
Ormuzd, 147, 174. 
Orodes, 676, 678. 
Orontes, 28, 29, 60, 118. 
Ortbagoras, 357. 
Ortygia, 488. 
Ostia, 528, 696. 
Otbniel, 215, 216. 
Otbrys, 394. 

Pacorus, 678. 

Padan Aram, 192. 

Palseopolis, 547. 

Palatine, 523, 529, 531. 

Palestine, 29, 32, 45, 46, 55, 58, 63-65, 

85, 87, 96, 119, 126, 129, 135, 154, 

190-274 passim, 291, 515, 704. 
Pallene, 399. 

Pampbylia, 268, 412, 509. 
Panormus, 311, 317, 560. 
Pantheon, 594. 
Panticapseum, 656. 
Paphlagonia, 584. 
Paran, 205. 
Paris, 695. 
Parma, 666. 
Parmenio, 183, 506. 
Parthenon, 417. 
Parthia, 70, 160, 268, 510, 602, 656, 

671, 676, 679, 681, 687, 688, 703, 

711. 
Parysatis, 175, 176, 468. 
Pasargadse, 154. 
Paulus .tEmilius, 570, 587. 
Pausanias, 171, 402, 406-9, 438, 462, 

472, 473. 
Peisander, 456, 473. 
Peisistratus, 163, 368, 380. 
Pekah, 122, 248. 
Pekaliah, 248. 
Pelagonia, 587. 
Pella, 497, 587. 
Pelopidas, 478-84, 492. 



724 



INDEX 



Peloponnesus, 169, 170, 297, 340-515 

passim. 
Pelusium, 48, 68, 156, 688. 
Pentateuch, 205. 
Penuel, 239. 
Pepi I., 14. 

— II., 15. 

Perdiccas, 55, 56, 493, 509. 
Perganms, 268, 580, 582, 584, 586, 588, 

601, 690. 
Periander, 358. 
Pericles, 51, 411-19, 422, 424, 426, 427, 

429, 431-38, 440, 442, 445, 447, 455, 

463, 487. 
Perinthus, 499. 
Periceci, 352. 
Perpenna, 646. 
Persepolis, 162, 187, 506, 507. 
Perseus, 511, 586, 587, 600. 
Persia, 48-53, 60, 78, 97, 100, 102, 103, 

110, 121, 143-88 passim, 259-63, 

281, 296-300, 311, 376-82, 385-91, 

394-99, 403-7, 411-12, 417, 419, 421- 

27, 432, 455, 456, 460, 469-72, 475- 

77, 483, 485, 502-8, 543. 
Persian Gulf, 77, 91, 97, 100, 132, 278, 

301. 
Perusia, 702. 
Pethor, 210. 
Petreius, 684. 

Petrie, Professor, 19, 32, 85. 
Phalerum, 170, 398. 
Pharaoh, 1-71 passim, 191, 287. 
Pharisees, 268, 269, 271. 
Pharnabazus, 51, 52, 176, 180, 298, 454, 

458, 459, 462, 472, 474. 
Pharnaces, 656, 690. 
Pharos, 59, 389, 689. 
Pharsalus, 68, 269, 686, 687, 690, 692, 

695, 699. 
Phassel, 270. 
Pheidon, 351, 353. 
Pherse, 495. 
Pheroras, 273. 
Phidias, 417. 
Philip (father of Alexander), 182, 183, 

300, 483, 492-501. 

— Aridffius, 56, 509, 510. 

— V., 63-65, 329, 511, 514, 571, 573,579- 

82, 584, 586, 687. 
Philippi, 70, 494, 702. 
Philippides, 386. 
Philistia, 41, 45, 126, 130, 185, 247, 

286. 
Philistines, 120, 122, 126, 203, 216, 218, 

219, 221-23, 226-28, 286, 287. 
Philometus, 495. 
Philotas, 506, 509. 
Phocion, 496, 497, 512, 513. 
Phocis, 169, 311, 344, 362, 393, 395, 

421, 424, 472, 480, 495-98, 514, 

579. 



Phcebidas, 477. 

Phoenicia, 7, 25, 47, 49, 52, 58, 63, 112, 
119, 120, 126, 129, 130, 132, 156, 
157, 168, 181, 185, 201, 202, 242, 
252, 268, 275-303, 308-11, 319, 343, 
345, 360-62, 382, 392, 399, 504, 519, 
555, 556, 580, 599, 704. 

Phormio, 438-40. 

Phraates, 676, 710. 

Phraortes, 140, 148, 149. 

Phrygia, 509. 

Phyle, 462. 

Phylus, 476. 

Piankhi, 40. 

Picenum, 577, 682. 

Pi-hahiroth, 203. 

Pirffius, 386, 391, 406, 420, 434, 454, 
457, 461, 462, 474. 

Pisa, 323. 

Pisgah, 211. 

Pisidians, 176. 

Pisiris, 226. 

Piso, 335, 599. 

Pithorn, 30. 

Pithon, 509. 

Placentia, 323, 324, 564, 568, 577, 666. 

Platsea, 171, 172, 371, 387, 401-6, 415, 
421, 435, 438, 476. 

Plato, 464, 466, 467, 488. 

Pleistoanax, 446. 

Po, 323, 324, 520, 577, 615. 

Pompey the Great, 67, 68, 269, 344, 
635, 637, 645-47, 652-64, 671-89, 
693, 695, 697, 699. 

— Gnseus, 692, 698. 

— Sextus, 692, 698, 702, 703. 
Pontius, 548. 

Pontus, 625, 631, 650, 651, 655, 656. 
Portugal, 596. 
Poseidon, 513. 

Potidsea, 431, 432, 438, 484, 494. 
Potiphera, 197. 
Prseneste, 636. 
Prisse, 14. 
Propylsea, 417. 
Prosopitis, 51. 
Prusias, 334, 580. 
Prytany, 372, 373, 465, 466. 
Psarnatik I., 14, 42, 44, 45, 92, 140-42, 
362. 

— II., 47, 156, 257. 

— III., 48. 
Ptah, 8. 
Ptahhetep, 14. 

Ptolemy I. (Soter), 54-58, 263, 302, 
509, 510. 

— II. (Philadelphus), 55, 58, 59. 

— III. (Euergetes), 55, 59, 60, 61, 63. 

— IV. (Philopator), 63-65, 579. 

— V. (Epiphanas), 64, 65, 579, 582. 

— VI. (Eupator), 65. 

— VII.-XIL, 66. 



INDEX 



725 



Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes), 61, 66-69, 
674, 676, 688. 

— XIV., 68, 688, 689, 690. 

— XV., 69. 
Publius Servilius, 648. 
Pudil, 111, 115. 

Punic Wars, 318, 321, 332, 558, 560, 

563, 564, 578. 
Punjaub, 162. 
Punt, 16, 24. 
Purim, 261. 
Put, 7, 43. 
Puteoli, 641. 

Pydna, 494, 511, 586, 600. 
Pygmalion, 289, 307. 
Pylos, 441, 442, 444, 446. 
Pyrenees, 321, 330, 568, 574, 613, 684. 
Pyrrhus, 59, 314, 315, 490, 510, 511, 

549-57, 579, 631. 
Pythagoras, 48. 
Pythian Games, 350, 357, 498. 

Quintus Mbtellus, 612, 613, 616, 636. 

— Pompeius, 597. 

— Rufus, 626. 
Quirinal, 523, 524, 529. 

Ea, 8. 

Raamah, 282. 

Rabsaris, 130. 

Rabshakeh, 113, 130. 

Rachel, 196. 

Rahotep, 12. 

Ramnes, 524. 

Ramoth Gilead, 119, 244, 245. 

Ramses I., 28, 29, 201. 

— II., 28-33, 201-3. 

— III., 35-3S, 214, 216, 286. 

— IV. -XIII., 36-38. 

— (city), 30, 203. 
Raphia, 41, 63, 64, 126. 
Rasmenkhka, 23. 
Raudine Plain, 615, 666. 
Ravenna, 680, 681. 
Rawlinson, 11. 
Rebecca, 196. 

Red Sea, 5, 7, 14, 16, 24, 32, 36, 38, 

46, 58, 234, 244, 245, 287, 293, 

556. 
Regillus, 532. 
Regulus, 316, 317, 559-61. 
Rehoboam, 39, 40, 235-39, 254. 
Remus, 522. 
Reuben, 210. 
Rezon, 122, 234, 238, 248. 
Rhages, 149. 
Rhegium, 361, 521, 551, 553, 558, 559, 

588. 
Rhine, 667-71, 711. 
Rhodes, 51, 58, 61, 65, 66, 268, 361, 

473, 580-84, 588/650. 
Rhone, 568, 667, 684. 



Riblah, 257. 
Rimmon, 79. 
Rimmon-nirari I., 89, 115. 

— II., 117, 118, 148. 

— III., 119, 120. 

Rome, 59, 63-71, 120, 266-80, 302-37, 
344, 361-64, 436, 490, 494, 508, 
510, 511, 514, 519-712. 

Romney Marsh, 670. 

Romulus, 522, 523, 528. 

Rosetta Stone, 10, 11. 

Roxana, 507, 510. 

Rubicon, 679, 680. 

Rullus, 659. 

Rumon, 523. 

Russia, 194. 

Rutilius Rufus, 620. 

Sabinbs, 520-24, 539, 543, 544. 

Sadducees, 268, 271. 

Saguntum, 320, 321, 566, 567. 

Sais, 39, 40, 42, 44, 47. 

Sakhara, 14. 

Salamis, 169, 170, 174, 180, 297,311, 

346, 397, 398, 403, 405, 415, 463, 

465, 544. 
Salatis, 20. 
Salem, 193, 194. 
Sallust, 692. 
Salome, 272, 274. 
Samaria, 41, 123-25, 148, 158, 239, 243, 

244, 249, 260, 262, 265, 268, 271, 

274. 
Samas, 79, 115. 
Samas-sum-yukin, 92, 138. 
Sambre, 668. 
Samnites, 325, 327, 521, 544, 546-49, 

552, 553, 567, 624, 636. 
Samnium, 577, 636, 641. 
Samos, 268, 348, 422, 430, 431, 439, 

455-57, 461, 484, 580, 706. 
Samsi-Rimmon I., 114. 

— II., 119, 148. 
Samson, 217. 

Samuel, 218, 219, 222, 223, 227. 

Sanballat, 262. 

Sanehat, 17. 

Sanhedrin, 270, 271. 

Saone, 667. 

Saplal, 28, 29. 

Saracus, 93, 141. 

Sarah, 192, 195. 

Sardinia, 281, 312, 318, 361, 378, 557, 

561, 608, 646, 662, 685. 
Sardis, 100, 152, 165, 168, 171, 172, 

377, 380-82, 391, 403. 
Sarepta, 242, 277. 
Sargon, .41, 83, 84, 90, 91, 111, 124- 

29, 138, 148, 192, 249, 252, 258, 

291, 361. 
Saturninus, 616, 619. 
Saul, 38, 116, 219, 221-26, 230. 



726 



INDEX 



Sayce, Professor, 20, 199, 203, 205. 
Scsevola, 620. 
Scaurus, 614. 
Scione, 446. 

Scipio Publius, 321-23, 328, 329, 568, 
569, 574. 

— Gnseus, 322, 328, 329, 574. 

— Africanus, 329, 331, 332, 574-77, 

584, 585, 605. 

— Asiaticus, 584. 

— Africanus (Minor), 335-37, 597, 599, 

605, 607. 

— L.C., 636. 

— Metellus, 690, 691. 
Scopas, 65, 582. 
Scotland, 525. 
Scyros, 475. 

Scythians, 44, 45, 93, 99, 100, 141, 149, 

151, 162-64, 254, 292, 376, 380, 

381, 499, 508. 
Sebastopol, 362. 
Sebekneferu, 17. 
Sebennytus, 51. 
Segesta. See Egesta. 
Seir, 32, 205, 214. 
Seleucia, 60, 63, 103. 
Seleucidas, 103, 302, 303, 509, 510, 

656. 
Selinus, 312, 449, 486. 
Sellasia, 513. 
Semiramis, 89, 120. 
Sempronius, 321, 322, 568, 569, 605. 
Sena, 550. 
Senate, 59, 67, 267, 307, 314, 316, 326, 

335, 337, 516-712 passim. 
Senegal, 281, 310. 
Senir, 282. 
Senkereh, 85. 
Sennacherib, 41, 91, 111, 128-38, 148, 

252, 253, 291, 361. 
Senones, 549. 
Sentinum, 548. 
Sepharvaim, 82, 125, 249. 
Sepias, 394. 
Sepphoris, 269. 
Septuagint, 59. 
Sequani, 667, 668. 
Seron, 266. 

Sertorius, 637, 646, 648, 649. 
Servian Wall, 529. 
Servilius, 324, 326. 
Servius Tullius, 528-31, 538. 
Sestos, 404. 
Seti I., 28-30, 201. 
— II., 28, 31, 32, 203. 
Setnekht, 34. 
Sextinus, 540, 541. 
Shabak, 40. 
Shabatok, 41. 
Shabe, 41. 
Shallum, 248. 
Shalmaneser I., 115. 



Shalmaneser II., 89, 111, 118, 119, 
148, 239, 243, 290. 

— III., 120. 

— IV., 41, 90, 123, 125, 126, 249, 252, 

290. 

Sharezer, 132, 133. 

Sharon, 277. 

Sheba, 229, 282. 

Shechem, 217, 235, 239.| 

Shiloh, 218, 237, 274. 

Shimei, 229. 

Shinar, 85. 

Shishak, 39, 40, 234, 237-39. 

Shushan. See Susa. 

Siberia, 154. 

Sicharbas, 284. \ 

Sicily, 281, 288, 308, 309, 311-18, 321, 
323, 328, 329, 331, 333, 348, 358, 
361, 391, 440, 441, 449-54, 486-91, 
510, 543, 544, 551-53, 556-62, 565, 
568, 573, 575, 576, 588, 604, 605, 

618, 637, 645, 680, 685, 703. 
Sicyon, 268, 347, 357, 358. 

Sidon, 129, 134, 135, 181, 185, 239, 241, 

275-303 passim, 362, 505. 
Sikhyuvatis, 158. 
Silanus, 614. 
Simon, 265, 267, 268. 
Simyra, 277, 290, 292. 
Sin, 79, 84, 100, 115. 
Sinaitic peninsula, 12-14, 24, 36, 83- 

85, 192, 201-5. 
Sinope, 362. 
Sin-sarra-iskun, 141. 
Sin-sum-lisir, 141. 
Sippara, 95, 100, 101, 153, 154, 159. 
Si-Ptah, 28, 31, 32, 203. 
Sisera, 216. 
Smerdis, 158, 378. 
Smith, George, 89. 
Smyrna, 348, 361. 
Sneferu, 12. 
So, 41. 

Social war (Boman), 625, 631, 632. 
Socrates, 345, 444, 445, 450, 460, 461, 

464-70. 
Sodom, 86, 695. 
Sogdianus, 175. 
Sollium, 446. 
Solomon, 34, 38, 39, 89, 116, 117, 228- 

38, 278, 287-88. 
Solon, 48, 365-69. 
Sophocles, 463. 
Sosigenes, 697. 
Soter, 55, 58. 

Soudan, 6, 14, 15, 23, 40, 58. 
Spain, 112, 233, 281, 282, 288, 307, 309, 

319-22, 328-32, 361, 362, 564-68, 

573-79, 585, 588, 590, 596, 597, 613 r 

619, 646-49, 651-53, 663-66, 674- 
76, 680-85, 697. 

Spartacus, 647, 651. 



INDEX 



727 



Sparta, 51, 52, 163-69, 171, 178-80, 268, 
340-515 passim, 580, 581. 

Sphacteria, 442, 445. 

Sphodrians, 478. 

Spurius-Albinus, 612. 

— Cassius, 537. 

St. Albans, 670. 

Strabo, 626, 629. 

Strymon, 393. 

Suburana, 531. 

Succoth, 203. 

Suez, 7, 17, 162, 203. 

Sulla, 521, 613, 619, 623, 625-28, 631- 
53, 658-62, 683, 702. 

Sulpicius, 625-28. 

Sumer, 78, 87. 

Sunium, 389, 397. 

Susa, 156, 162, 164, 168, 172, 188, 261, 
381, 389, 390, 403, 423, 475, 506-8. 

Susiana, 60. 

Susian gates, 187. 

Sutlej, 507. 

Switzerland, 667. 

Sybaris, 361, 521. 

Syene, 6 

Syphax, 331, 576. 

Syracuse, 308, 311, 313, 316, 358, 361, 
449, 451, 452, 458, 477, 486-91, 544, 
551-59, 571, 618. 

Syria, 17, 20, 24-30, 38, 39, 45, 46, 57- 
59, 63-70, 84, 87, 90, 116-19, 140- 
47, 160, 161, 175, 177, 184, 228, 
243, 244, 247, 263, 267, 268, 282- 
90, 293, 298, 302, 334, 504, 509, 
510, 580, 584, 588, 590, 602, 656, 
671, 674, 675, 678, 686, 687, 703. 

Tabor, 216. 

Tachos, 52, 485. 

Tabpanbes, 47. 

Tanagra, 421, 422. 

Tanis, 19, 37-40. 

Tarentum, 330, 361, 521, 550-53, 563, 

574, 609, 704. 
Tarquin, 528, 530-32. 
Tarsbish, 282. 
Tarsus, 703. 
Tartan, 113, 130. 
Tartary, 378. 
Tatnai, 160. 
Taurini, 323. 
Tauromenium, 605. 
Taurus, 25, 28, 504, 584. 
Teanum, 636, 681. 
Tegea, 353, 481. 
Tegyra, 479. 
Teispes, 135, 151. 
Telamon, 564. 
Tel el-Amarna, 26, 88, 114, 193, 194, 

200, 214, 284, 285. 
Tellob, 78, 83. 
Tempe, 169, 393. 



Tencteri, 669. 

Tenedos, 361. 

Tennes, 298, 299. 

Terab, 192. 

Terentilius, 538. 

Teta, 14. 

Teutones, 614, 615, 666. 

Thales, 48. 

Thames, 523, 670. 

Tbapsus, 691. 

Tbasos, 412, 419, 430. 

Tbebes, 8, 16-32, 37-42, 137, 157, 180, 

200, 340-515 passim. 
Tbemistocles, 170, 171, 385, 390-92, 

398, 400, 405-11. 
Thermopylae, 164, 169, 170, 390-97, 

405, 495-97, 510, 583. 
Tbero, 311. 
Theseus, 345. 
Thessalonica, 587, 685. 
Thessaly, 164, 169, 171, 347, 380, 381, 

393, 394, 401, 434, 482-84, 492, 

495-97, 501, 579, 600, 686. 
Thetes, 366, 367. 
Thimbron, 178, 179, 470, 472. 
This, 39. 
Thothmes I., 23, 24. 

— II., 23, 24. 

— III., 23-25, 30, 34, 115, 284. 
jy 23 25. 

Thrace, 58, 163, 165, 169, 171, 183, 

281, 300, 340-515 passim, 581, 582, 

586, 632, 634. 
Thrasybulus, 457, 462. 
Thrasyllus, 457. 
Thucydides, 417, 418, 426, 429, 436, 

444, 445. 
Thurii, 549, 550. 
Tiber, 521, 523, 528, 529, 532, 553, 696, 

700. 
Tiberius, 26, 711. 
Tibni, 238. 

Ticinus, 323, 568, 574. 
Tidal, 85, 193. 
Tiglath-Bir, 115. 
Tiglath-Pileser I., 115, 116, 118, 289. 

— III. (Pul), 40, 83, 90, 120-23, 138, 

247-49, 290, 361. 
Tigranes, 302, 649-51, 655. 
Tigranocerta, 649, 650. 
Tigris, 77, 91, 103, 109, 122, 186, 505. 
Timocrates, 179, 439. 
Timoleon, 313, 489, 490. 
Tirhakah, 41, 42, 129, 134, 136, 291. 
Tirzah, 238, 239. 
Tissaphernes, 176, 179, 454-59, 469, 

470-72. 
Tithraustes, 179, 472, 473, 475. 
Tities, 524. 
Tolosa, 666. 
Torone, 446. 
Tower of Babel, 80. 



728 



INDEX 



Trasimene Lake, 325, 569. 

Trebia, 323-25, 568, 569. 

Trebizond, 362, 469. 

Tribazus, 180, 475. 

Trifanum, 547. 

Tripolis, 277, 303. 

Triumvirate, 702. 

Trcezen, 397. 

Troy, 341-44, 522. 

Tryphon, 618. 

Tuant-Amon, 42, 44. 

Tubal, 282, 291. 

Tudghula, 85, 193. 

Tullus Hostilius, 528. 

Tunis, 555, 576. 

Turin, 323. 

Turkestan, 147. 

Tuscany. See Etruria. 

Tusculum, 532. 

Tutankh-Amen, 23, 27. 

Twelve Tables, 538. 

Tyi, 26, 200. 

Tyre, 63, 96, 112, 123, 124, 134, 137, 
180, 185, 186, 231, 232, 275-303 
passim, 307-9, 334, 362, 505. 

Ulysses, 342. 

Umbria, 548, 569, 574, 623. 

Una, 14, 15. 

United States, 206. 

Ur, 82-84, 109, 192. 

Ur-Bau, 84. 

Ur-duggina, 83. 

Ur-Nina, 83. 

Ur-taki, 138. 

Usertesen I., II., III., 17, 18. 

Usipites, 669. 

Utica, 281, 288, 307, 331, 361, 519, 576, 

600, 690, 691. 
Uzziah, 247, 251. 

Vadimo Lake, 549. 
Valerius, 685. 
Van, 116. 
Varro, 570. 
Varus, 711. 



Vasco da Gama, 293. 

Vashti, 172. 

Veii, 532, 540, 544-46. 

Veneti, 669. 

Ventidius, 703. 

Vercingetorix, 671, 672, 678. 

Vestini, 521. 

Vesuvius, 547, 647. 

Via Flaminia, 564, 577. 

Viminal, 523. 

Virginia, 526, 539. 

Viriathus, 596. 

Vocontii, 666. 

Vola Terra, 636. 

Volscians, 531, 539, 540, 543-46. 

Volso, 559. 

Wady Halfa, 14, 18. 

Xanthippus, 317, 560. 
Xenophon, 175, 438, 464, 469, 470. 
Xerxes I., 50, 103, 168, 175, 179, 260, 

261, 296, 297, 311, 344, 390-409, 

421, 483, 486, 543, 556. 
— II., 175. 
Xois, 19, 39. 

Young, Thomas, 10. 

Zab, 109. 

Zagazig, 21, 198. 

Zagros, 116, 129. 

Zama, 64, 65, 332, 576, 577, 597. 

Zambesi, 233. 

Zankle, 361. 

Zaphnath paaneah, 197. 

Zechariah, 246, 248, 282. 

Zedekiah, 47, 96, 98, 257. 

Zela, 690. 

Zerubbabel, 154, 259, 272, 378. 

Ziklag, 223, 224. 

Zimri, 238, 245. 

Zion, 131. 

Zipporah, 201. 

Zoan, 20, 21, 193. 

Zoroaster, 147. 



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